


How We Feel

by Shatterpath



Series: Pyramid [6]
Category: Reba (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Airplane Sex, Airplanes, Alex sings, Alien Technology, Awkward Tension, BAMF Alex Danvers, Battle, Big Sister Alex Danvers, Canon Related, Cussing, Cute Kids, Declarations Of Love, Established Relationship, F/F, Families of Choice, Fondling, Friendship/Love, Hospitals, Kara's OTP is Food, Mad Science, Maggie needs her own story too, Marriage Proposal, Monsters, Mrs Needleberg, Nonverbal Communication, Not so shy anymore are we Alex?, Rare Pairings, Reunions, Science Police is a silly name, Sexy Nerds, Shower Sex, Sleepy Cuddles, Surfing, Susan Vasquez is the Best Bro, Talking, Whump, cocky banter, did I mention cussing?, did i mention whump?, sort of..., tropical paradise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 00:20:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 52,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9691184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: Hawaii will afford some safety in distance, but there is unfinished business that won't wait forever.And they all have monsters to face.Begins on Monday, November 28th and runs through December 20th.





	1. New Skies

**Author's Note:**

  * For [andtheother](https://archiveofourown.org/users/andtheother/gifts).



> So, the sequel was getting a bit long in the tooth, so I decided to break it up and begin a third round of rarepair shenanigans. 
> 
> I've dedicated this part of my saga to andtheother for her help in chatting at me, leading to the Hawaiian part of the larger story.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a shuffling of bodies, Susan and Kyra took the forward-facing of the foremost seats and Lena shifted towards the window so that Alex could sit beside her. The noise from outside vanished with a muffled thump and the whole plane shuddered very faintly around them as it began to move.

The old expression says a journey begins with a single step.

Or a text message.

The moment Alex checked her phone, her whole persona changed, the laser-focused danger coming to the forefront. Even having seen the transition before, Lena was fascinated.

In a flurry of activity, the women grabbed their things and headed for the door. The last thing to join them was a bulky pistol that Alex had hidden in the chair cushions of all the insane things. She either missed or ignored Lena's widened eyes in reaction. They were going to have a talk about that.

But for now, they were on. Over the course of her life, Lena had dealt with bodyguards before and knew how to take her cues from them. Without asking, she grabbed the largest suitcase with the big carryon strapped to the top, leaving Alex with the middle-sized case and the garment bag, both easily dropped and less likely to interfere with her movements. All she carried of her own was a black leather backpack slung close to her body.

It was a quiet ride in the elevator and a silent walk to the black SUV Susan waited beside. Bags were stowed and Alex got Lena settled in behind the driver's seat with a little squeeze to the elbow before walking around the car to sit behind the sleeping figure in the passenger seat. 

As they left the complex behind, Lena was disconcerted that she found herself already missing Alex's apartment where she had felt so at home.

At four in the morning the city was only just stirring, even on a Monday, and they arrived at NCX(*) with ease. Lena directed Susan away from the regular routes of pickup and departure to more industrial areas of the gigantic airport. Signage separated them from the delivery trucks and buses to an officious TSA(**) checkpoint.

Still sound asleep, Kyra didn't stir until Susan gently prodded her as they slipped into one of the designated parking spots. "Come on, you. Time for the paperwork part of the morning."

"You're lucky you're cute," Kyra growled, completely forgetting they weren't alone. "And put away the cow eyes, Agent Badass, I'm up, I'm up."

Chuckles from the backseat made Kyra jump even as the doors opened and all she saw was a red felt coat and a fall of long, dark hair. Another stranger walked between her window and the blaze of lights from the surrounding airport, shortish hair tossing in the breeze.

Still half-asleep, Kyra wearily followed Susan and the strangers to where their luggage had been pulled out of the car and was being run through an x-ray machine. Distracted by going through the rigmarole of getting her ID checked and fretting over the pair of guitars brought along, Kyra only caught glimpses of the strangers. The hot redhead had to be the infamous Agent Danvers that Susan admired so. Now that she'd seen the woman, Kyra couldn't blame her girlfriend for that old crush. Yowza!

The other one, clearly their field trip sugar mama by her elegant dress and poise, was still a mystery. Though the glimpses of profile was nagging her memory. Why did she look so familiar?

The mystery was further pushed back when Kyra was treated to her girlfriend staring down some arrogant TSA yahoo who was trying to throw his weight around over the heavy pistols carried by both FBI agents. After that, they were quickly shuffled out and the bags piled back into the trunk as the police dog finished sniffing over the car.

"Agent Badass," Kyra teased warmly and leaned over to kiss the corner of Susan's smirk as she got them underway once more.

Moving past enormous hangars and outbuildings, Susan pulled up to one with the vast doors rolled back to reveal a trio of fancy jets in various sizes. The smallest was the rich cousin of a puddle-jumper and the largest the length of two large buses and twice as tall.

"Whoa, wait," Kyra breathed in awe. "Are we going on one of those?"

Susan and Lena chuckled lightly, but Alex was all business, hopping out of the car as a cheerful pair of employees poured from the building with carts to collect the luggage and escort them inside. A well-dressed manager of some sort zeroed in on the lady in the red coat to the exclusion of the rest of them, and it suddenly clicked with Kyra who she was. Susan looked innocent at the startled, accusatory look.

Alex caught the interaction of the other couple in her avid perusal of her surroundings, but ignored it. She was jittery this morning, just wanting to get Lena as far away from possible danger as possible, even as it rankled her to feel as though she was running away.

The hangar, plane and staff were neat and professional and that clearly did much to reassure Lena as she dealt with the staff interactions and the other three stood back quietly. Alex had never seen this side of her lover, not completely at the forefront like this. With a seemingly effortless, cool elegance, Lena Luthor the rich, powerful CEO was in her element. The rest of them were merely entourage. Necessary, but jarring nonetheless. Hard to believe just hours ago, on her kitchen counter…

Alex shoved that thought away and hoped she wasn't blushing.

"She's even better looking in person," Kyra noted conversationally as they hung back out in the hangar, admiring the shiny jets and Lena where she stood beside the largest machine talking with the small crew of three. Startled, Alex almost looked over at the small redhead, but managed to fight the urge. Susan made a strangled noise halfway between admonishing and amused, trying her best to remain serious Agent Badass #2. Well aware that she was pushing, but characteristically unable to stop herself, Kyra was all innocence. "What? I'm just sayin'."

"You and your celebrity rags," Susan couldn't resist teasing quietly and they playfully bumped shoulders. 

"Hardly," Kyra scoffed. "And half the time, you're the one that brings home Catco Magazine."

"Random personal connection," Susan taunted and then chortled over getting punched in the arm.

The Catco Magazine reference caught Alex's ear, but then the pilots were calling them over to board, promising warmth and comfort and hot coffee. But Alex remained wary, clearly unwilling to trap herself into a confined space with takeoff still an hour away. A hand in the small of her back, too close to the pistol nestled there, made Alex jump and half whip around, startling Lena.

"Crap, I'm sorry, Lee. I'm jumpy this morning."

Having that rattlesnake-fast menace turned on her, no matter how briefly, was unsettling and a little sexy. Rubbing a tense arm in lieu of the hug she really wanted, Lena quirked a quick smile that she suspected was more of a grimace.

"It's okay. Go prowl around to your heart's content. I won't let them leave without you."

For a long moment, Alex's game face was completely shot as she watched Lena turn away and stiffly climb the staircase that doubled as the door of the plane. 

"You didn't tell me they were a couple," Kyra hissed in an aside to Susan, who instantly went from unflappable Agent Vasquez to protesting girlfriend. 

"I didn't know! I didn't even meet Luthor until yesterday morning."

"So much for National City's Hottest and Edgiest Bachelorette, huh?"

"God, K, you are going to get me in so much trouble…"

Not for the first time, Susan wondered if she shouldn't be irritated at that evil cackle, but she still found Kyra's endless sass utterly charming.

"You're whipped," Alex stated dryly as Kyra scampered up the steps and Susan cringed in embarrassment. Not for the comment-- that she just shrugged and nodded at-- but that Alex had heard at least some of the exchange. Side by side, the two agents watched over the bustle of activity around them and guarded their loved ones.

Kyra didn't gawk at the luxurious interior of the plane… mostly. Mirror-shine dark woods were elegant contrast to the calm neutral colored surfaces and seats and the hangar's lights blazed through large oval windows. It was like something from a magazine and she couldn't even fathom what the price tag must be to rent a toy like this. There were a set of four seats towards the galley, facing each other in pairs with the aisle between. All the way to the back at a dark, shiny wall with a door in it, was another set of the same chairs and a couch. In the center was a table and four luxurious seats beside a sideboard and there sat none other than the famous Lena Luthor.

Oh yeah, this trip was shaping up to be a hell of a lot more interesting than she'd imagined. 

Setting aside her guitar case and satchel on one of the most forward of the seats, she stripped off her coat and watched the elegant woman pouring over an oversized tablet. Kyra knew what anyone knew about her, the forefront of which would forever be the homicidal madness that had gripped her older brother. And there was a persistent rumor the family had been involved in the last batch of weirdness in that red-gold dusting over the whole city Saturday night.

The smell of freshly brewed coffee was a siren call away from her musings and Kyra drifted back to the galley area where a well-appointed coffee service was awaiting the hot brew. A carafe was gurgling to completion in its secure housing in the cabinet, so impulsively, she grabbed the insulated pot to set it on the tray and brought the service over to her travel companion.

"Coffee?"

Humming something affirmative, Lena didn't even look up until Kyra sat opposite her and started pouring a couple of mugs. She looked canny and dangerous for a moment before her expression cleared.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're the other passenger from the car, yes?"

"Kyra Hart, Susan's livelier half, pleased to meet you. Thank you for the invite."

"I wouldn't deny… Agent Danvers," the pause on the title was an obvious one, "having backup, nor Agent Vasquez the opportunity to bring her partner along."

They were a newish thing then, Kyra guessed sagely, still trying to figure out one another and their boundaries.

"You're a musician," Lena noted at the sight of the battered guitar case leaning into the backward-facing seat by the galley.

"My bread and butter. Don't let me distract you from working."

Lena sighed and paused in pouring too much creamer in her coffee. "No, I appreciate the distraction."

"I make an excellent distraction."

So, they chatted to pass the time and Kyra was pleased to see a bit of the tension in the other woman ease. The crew flitted in and out, the single attendant looking startled at the missing coffee service before inquiring if they needed anything. 

Then there was a sudden shift in energies, the attendant calling in the pair of agents, collecting their loose bags to stow as they filed in. Kyra was grateful to see that both of them blinked and gawked for a moment at the plane's interior. Good, it wasn't just her then.

"Looks like Thing One and Thing Two are done prowling around like wolves, so I'm going to go sit forward for takeoff so that I can properly ogle the whole experience of this." Kyra's teasing tone made Lena smile and this time the expression was warmer, reaching her eyes. "See you when we hit altitude?"

"Thank you, Kyra, that will be great."

With a shuffling of bodies, Susan and Kyra took the forward-facing of the foremost seats and Lena shifted towards the window so that Alex could sit beside her. The noise from outside vanished with a muffled thump and the whole plane shuddered very faintly around them as it began to move.

"Hey," Alex greeted her lover quietly, pleased when Lena intertwined their fingers tightly under the table.

"I'm glad you're with me, Al."

With the others on the plane facing away, Alex took a dare to press a lingering kiss to Lena's sleek scalp.

"I'm glad to be with you."

Greg the flight attendant cleaned up everything loose in the cabin and ran through the obligatory flight and safety information, before lowering the cabin lights and retreating forward. In the dull pre-dawn, the big Gulfstream G550 was taxing along busily now towards its destination.

"You okay?" Alex asked quietly, relaxing now that they were finally getting underway. Lena was staring out the window at the vast stripes of concrete marred with black rubber streaks from endless landings. A faint, awkward shrug made Alex lean over the armrest separating them and she nuzzled at Lena's dark hair. "Do you not like flying?"

The whisper was little more than a hot breath over her scalp and there was no stopping the jolt of sensual reaction that raced down Lena's spine. Torn between that visceral pleasantness and her fear, it took a moment for her to respond.

"No, I really don't."

The words belied the soft, breathy tone and Alex's felt a flare of arousal. She knew that sensual pitch. Eyes darting to the back of Susan and Kyra's chairs, not six feet away, she impulsively threw caution to the wind. The plane was turning to face down one of the runways, setting up to launch into the cloudy skies.

"We'll be okay," Alex reassured Lena, pressing their intertwined hands deeply into her lover's lap to trail teasing fingertips along the inside of her thigh. The way Lena caught her breath made Alex grin against her bowed neck and Susan, on the diagonal to them, to glance over her shoulder… and very quickly faced forward again, shaking her head at Kyra's curious look. 

 

(*)= National City International Airport as a direct substitution for Los Angeles International Airport or LAX. I've always assumed the X is for the airplane shape on a map.

(**)= Transport Security Administration. We've all been through some version of sending all our loose carryons and shoes through the x-ray machine and providing proper documentation. In this day in and age, I'm assuming being rich doesn't save you from the hassle, it just makes it go much faster.


	2. Farms and Trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Susan and Kyra wondered if either of the other two knew how smitten they looked. A shared, wry glance said 'probably not'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had great fun designing the little resort they're staying at. Unlike Santa Barbara, I made this one up completely!
> 
> Also, I have NO idea where teasing Alex came from, but I like her!

Burrowing past the fall of dark hair, Alex nuzzled and nipped at Lena's neck, her fingertips dancing teasingly up the inseam of the camel-colored slacks. Choking down a low note of desire, Lena grabbed Alex's forearm, but made no move to stop her teasing. Even as the great Rolls-Royce engines behind them began gearing up to a roar, the gently stroking fingertips found their way to the apex of Lena's thighs. The sleek Gulfstream jet strained forward as Lena strained against the seatbelt tight around her hips. Alex pet the fabric, relishing the heat radiating through the layers, the clutch of Lena's fingers into her flesh. Even through the excellent sound baffling, the engines were a dull scream and momentum began pressing the passengers back in their seats. Alex let inertia work in her favor, her fingers curling lower to stroke whatever they could reach, Lena choking on a note of fear and arousal. 

The tremble of the jet lessened as the wheels left earth and the nose angled up more sharply, smoothing out even more as the landing gear folded away with a clunk that was felt more than heard. Lena lolled her head back and Alex shifted until they were nose-to-nose. Those bedroom eyes should not be allowed in public, Lena's lashes fluttering as Alex flexed her fingers in subconscious response. Both of them were breathing heavily, half-forgetting where they were as they the plane climbed higher and higher into the dawn sky.

"Tease," Lena sighed and Alex kissed her softly.

"I'll make it up to you later."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Some twenty minutes later, the rising sun was painting the clouds into pink cotton candy and Greg the attendant stepped back into the cabin. Only Susan acknowledged him, nodding with a faint smile. The others were all sound asleep.

"Well, I can see that you're going to be an easy bunch to cater to," he commented dryly and Susan only chuckled.

\----

Eventually Kyra woke with a start, yelping something incoherent that jerked the others awake and sent Greg bustling in.

"Sorry, sorry," Kyra grumbled, rubbing her face. "I think I was dreaming."

Stiff from sleeping upright, the women unbuckled their seatbelts and climbed to their feet to stretch and get into their carryons or use the lavatory behind the dark, shiny wall in the back. With Greg offering food and drink, Kyra took over the seat opposite Lena's spot so that she could be social and still ogle out the window. Naturally, Susan gravitated to her side and soon the women were fortified with a variety of drinks and a light brunch was on its way. Lena wearily settled back into her window seat and watched Kyra rifle through her overstuffed backpack.

"I'm not normally such a mess," she growled over the riot of oddball items that fell from the pack and shot Susan a mock dirty look. "But when the girlfriend says, 'hey I have an insane proposition. How does a free week in Hawaii sound?' You freakin' jump on it." She looked wryly look at the other couple. "Though more than an hour to get ready would have been nice."

"And if I'd told you before you started your set you would have smothered me in my sleep at the first opportunity," Susan sassed in a mild tone that belied her adoring grin.

"This is true. The show must go on!"

Lena palmed a dog-eared copy of Catco Magazine from the mess and riffled the edged with her thumb. "I remember this article."

"The alien detection device," Kyra added and nodded. "Those never did come out on the market."

Lena looked, not uncomfortable exactly, but certainly conflicted. Her thumb continued to stroke the edges of the papers. "I found myself… at odds with the project. The device has been put on the back burner for months. I have several people in R and D that are wildly unhappy about my procrastinating." 

No one was entirely certainly what to say at her melancholy, so Kyra changed the subject a bit, leaning back in her seat to eyeball Alex closely. "Danvers. Why does that ring a bell? Besides your one-woman cheer squad here." 

Susan just cradled her head in her hands and sighed. Chuckling, Alex reached over to give her wrist a squeeze. "It's mutual. That said," she moved her hand to press the magazine out of Lena's loose grip and tap a finger against the glossy cover. "It might be this."

Kyra always did like a challenge and her expression went cagey before brightening. "Danvers. Wait. The reporter that interviewed you," she pointed at Lena, who smiled and nodded, and then the finger moved in Alex's direction. "is somehow, what, related to you?"

"My younger sister, Kara."

"Excellent! My compliments to her choice in venues. I read most of what Catco puts out, because ass-kicking women in power rock." 

The matter-of-fact crow was accompanied by an all-encompassing gesture to the magazine and Lena both. 

"Was that a compliment?"

Kyra merely smiled over the rim of her glass while Susan chuckled and answered for her. "Yes ma'am." 

The casual, get to know you conversation was pleasant, even as it inadvertently brushed close to unpleasant subjects. Something that had become an inevitable occurrence in Lena's experience.

"We became friends as Catco kept sending Kara to me," Lena added and was startled when Alex took her hand to draw their intertwined fingers under the table and onto her leg. The overt gesture display of affection was studiously ignored by the other couple and Lena took a moment to finish her thought. "I generally don't care for reporters, as you can imagine, but Kara has always been fair with me, and I grew to like her as a person. Eventually she invited me over for her semi-weekly game night with her friends and I began to get to know this one too."

Both Susan and Kyra wondered if either of the other two knew how smitten they looked. A shared, wry glance said 'probably not'.

\----

Eventually, the endless blue plain of the Pacific was broken up by the glorious chain of the Hawaiian Islands. The pilots were forced into a holding pattern for a bit, but none of the passengers could complain about the additional views. It was fascinating to watch a storm front marching across the water to meet them as they dropped down into Honolulu. 

Like takeoff, Lena clung to Alex's arm and those same fingers teased over the soft curves of her inner thighs and groin. The bump of jet to tarmac made her moan softly and fight the urge to bite Alex's shoulder. Not because Alex didn't deserve a hell of a nip, the tease, but because she'd managed to avoid seriously mussing her makeup thus far.

"That was a great flight," Susan spoke into the quiet left behind once the engines and wing flaps had dragged them to a crawl. "But I have no complaints about being back on the ground."

Soon thereafter, Greg appeared to help get them situated as the Gulfstream slid to a gentle stop and the engines began powering down. The quartet thanked the pilots and Greg for a peaceful flight and were happy to turn to the steps leading them into the warm sunshine and humid air of Oahu, the storm having already blown through. 

Admittedly, a busy airport was no place to sightsee, but the ocean glistened invitingly beyond the controlled chaos, an irresistible temptation to the senses.

"Aloha folks!" a woman's voice called out and drew all eyes, the agents naturally tensing up. Beside an enormous white van with a small trailer behind it and an awning jutting over its open doors, an elderly woman waved. She was blonde going white, a bit round and perhaps around her sixtieth year. However, there was no sense of age to her brisk walk over to them. "Welcome to Oahu. I'm Eugenia Lucas of Once Upon a Time Farm, but everyone calls me Granny. You have a reservation with me and your chariot awaits."

With a few quick movements, Granny handed over an oversized cellphone to Alex to check the photos there of the four visitors and a reservation confirmation in Lena's name. The information was verified through Lena's phone and the group relaxed.

The oversized van turned out to be a luxuriously appointed RV with four comfy captain's chairs forward and a full bench flanked by two jumpseats in the back. 

"Luxurious, powerful, spacious and has its own restroom and kitchenette," Granny explained jovially and pressed a button that sent the awning humming back into its housing. "It even brings its own shade."

Susan finished supervising Greg's loading the luggage in the back of the big van and sent him away with a ten and a wave before joining her companions. The big Mercedes Benz RV roared to life and Granny looked back at her charges. "It's after lunch now for you folks and you must be hungry. Is there anything you'd like to do before we head home?"

There was something in the way Susan looked blandly over her shoulder at Alex and Lena, half cuddled up in the bench seat in the back. Flustered, they sat up a bit and Alex cleared her throat before speaking up. 

"I, uh, don't know about anyone else, but I could use getting settled in. Since we'll be here for at least a week, exploring isn't going anywhere, right?"

Susan barely contained her smirk and untwisted towards the forward once more, catching her girl's eye in the process. 'Honeymoon phase', Kyra mouthed silently and they both stifled down giggling.

"I have some business in…" Lena paused to check her phone. "Haleiwa, but I think Al is right, it can certainly wait until tomorrow. I'm not certain I pronounced that correctly."

"You did just fine, honey. Let me provide some snacks for the drive at least. No one goes hungry on my watch."

True to her word, Granny raided the RV's mini-fridge, bringing out small, heavy glass dishes and bottles to be distributed among the five of them. 

So, fortified with juice, exotic sliced fruits, fresh goat's milk cheese and some rice dumplings tasting of coconut and sesame, the visitors settled in to ogle the passing scenery. Green-choked suburbs of Honolulu faded to well-tended fields sliced by streams and rivers and broken up by bursts of scattered jungle wilderness pressing close to the busy highway that cut through the interior of the mountainous island. Off in the near distance was the breathtaking sight of the dramatic terrain falling away into the endless ocean spread out against the famous North Shore.

Somewhere in the midst of the fields and streams the van came to a gate that yawned open at their approach. The sign above was in the shape of an open book, proclaiming the name of the farm.

Around them were neat fields of all manner of plants, and rows of well-tended trees bearing fruit. In paddocks of thick green grass, livestock browsed and wandered about. Here and there at the edges of the cultivated areas peeked buildings, all of them low and discrete. All in all, an intoxicating blend of farm and wilderness.

A long ranch-style building was their destination, an attractive pair of polo-shirt wearing employees already waiting. The open book motif was emblazoned over their hearts. 

"Welcome home," Granny announced and waved off the pair to get the luggage while her guests climbed out and stretched in the hazy sunshine. "We'll get rain again before dinner. Come on in!"

The rambling farmhouse was open and homey and elegant with plenty of places to sit and relax, the biggest farmhouse table any of the visitors had ever seen and a kitchen that looked like it could feed two hundred. It was a cross between an elegant hotel lobby and someone's living room. Still, nothing that stood out enough to explain why Jess had booked them here and not at some popular resort.

"We serve meals family style, but are more than happy to cater out to your bungalows if you would like." Granny rambled on about mealtimes and some of the amenities, but her guests were too busy gawking at what lay on the other side of the main house.

It was a courtyard… park… football field of glorious native plants and neatly trimmed walkways with a bit of grass here and there for bare feet. There were a variety of lounging areas amidst the scattered trees and a dozen-ish bungalows in all manner of island styles fronted the amazing space each with a sprawling porch appointed with tables, chairs and loungers. 

But that wasn't what made the visitors gawk. That would be the tangle of huge fallen trees the resort was built right around and even among what could have been an unsightly debris field. A tall specimen easily eight feet thick at the base had clearly come down atop a low, wide tree, jutting its canopy and roots up at better than a forty-five degree angle. 

"Big grandmother koa there fell and nearly chopped her neighbor monkeypod in half. Must have been some argument between old friends because both trees were generations old." Granny's voice was fond and regretful for the loss of the living trees. "A bunch of the locals helped us trim the old couple up and I donated all the wood to the chiefs to use as they see fit. It was my granddaughter that had the idea to sculpt the wreckage and that eventually led to the resort."

Careful hands had shaped the huge stumps, branches and roots whittled down to the thickest parts, bark sanded off and the tips smoothed down into neatly rounded knobs. An amoeba-shaped pool slipped beneath the roots as though it were a grotto. Several of the natural wood pillars met concrete uprights built right into the pool itself. Roots and branches intertwined with spindly-looking steel and polycarbonate panels to create a canopy that arched over the pool in a surprising beautiful juxtaposition of materials and function.

"Wow," Alex finally breathed for the group, the others nodding in agreement.

"This is beautiful, err, Granny," Lena complimented and leaned lightly against Alex.

"Thank you. Still stuns me every time I walk out here and look at it. Well, come see your home for the next week."

Home turned out to be a pair of bungalows with a big covered porch between them, set up for socializing. There Granny paused for the bags to catch up, grinning at her patrons.

"There are phones in pretty much every room. Just dial 9 for the main house if you need anything. And we're isolated enough that the wifi is unsecured, so enjoy yourselves."

"Give us a couple hours to unwind and we'll see all of you."

With that decisive announcement, Lena strode into the bungalow Granny gestured her toward, the woman employee following with the bags to set them in the sprawling master bedroom and retreating without a word.


	3. Promises Kept

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shifting to straddle Alex, Lena settled with the shower spray on her shoulders and back, slicking her hair to her skin. Long tendrils trailed loosely here and there, carrying the water down to Alex's skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Alex has been a mean tease, and it was a long flight and whatever shall our lovelies do with all this privacy, hmmmm?

Dimly noting the finery of the spacious bungalow, Alex teetered between the need to prowl this new place, lock windows and doors for what small safety they provided… and throwing caution to the wind. 

This time, all the teasing and lack of privacy was too much and she stalked after her lover to catch the end of Lena skinning her blouse off. It was the corporate armor, sleek and stylish, beginning to be peeled away. Groaning, Alex was on her in a flash, the kiss hard and hot, swallowing up the deep note of need. She could feel the damp of sweat from the heat on Lena's skin, just as it was on her own body, trapped under too many damn layers.

"God I want you so bad," Alex growled and suckled at that intoxicating lower lip, relishing the taste of mauled lipstick as proof of the mussing, the stripping away of social armor until they could just be themselves.

"Yes," Lena hissed back and nipped lightly at the divot in Alex's upper lip. She sank her hands into the darkly red hair she adored, pulled lightly at the disheveled strands. "You mean thing, teasing me."

"Did it take your mind off the flying?"

"Yes, you smug jerk, it did, but if you don't fuck me senseless in very short order, I'm going to kick your ass."

The lusty words gave Alex a thrill and she dropped her hands to give that tempting backside a grab. Which got a growl and her hair yanked.

"Shower," Lena ordered, her voice low and needy. "I want your hands on me, all that water around us, come on, Tiger!"

"Fuck, Lena," Alex breathed, senses ablaze with her, fumbling off her blazer and carelessly tossing it aside, their shoes kicked away. Practically tripping over one another in their haste, they fumbled into the bathroom, forced to separate for a few moments so they didn't break their necks.

Alex managed to get her shirt off and her slacks unbuttoned before finding herself shoved against the vanity and kissed hard enough to thump her head back against the mirror. Those manicured hands roved over her ribs and belly and Alex gripped at Lena's hip and arm.

Both distantly noted the airy spaciousness of the ensuite as they stumbled for the shower, Alex nearly tripping over her pants and underwear as they dropped, Lena cracking her elbow on a shelf of towels as she wrestled her bra off. The fancy shower corner had no walls to designate its area and the entire back wall of the room was enormous glass panels overlooking a lush private courtyard. Neither gave a damn about the glass in the heat between them, Lena fumbling with the shower controls as Alex pinned her to the wall. They both groaned in pleasure at the near-nakedness between them, in contrast to the too-cool water that fell from an enormous plate of perforated stainless steel above them. The rain-like fall soaked Alex's bra and Lena's panties where neither had quite managed to completely strip.

Even as the water warmed, so did they, hands refamiliarizing themselves with the sensitive places on one another's bodies, kissing with hurried desperation. To impatient to get rid of the cockeyed underwear, Alex shoved her hand under the silk and lace, skimming over Lena's firm-soft belly and nearly trimmed pubes. The warm wet she found had nothing to do with the rivulets of shower water.

Lena arched and curled a leg around Alex's hip, getting the soaked bra rucked up enough that she could palm Alex's tits.

They were rough and wild, groans and cries mixing with the patter of the rainshower of warm water. The fondling on the plane had been utterly unexpected and probably the kinkiest thing Lena had participated in while sober. Not being fondled, that was more R-rated, but there was no way in hell their companions hadn't known at least some of what was going on, no matter Alex's poker face.

So, all in all, it was very efficient foreplay and had her quickly humping that exploring hand, skull and shoulders pressed to the wall, Alex sucking little bruises into her neck. The euphoric release swept over Lena's nerves and, still gasping and shaking, she shoved Alex back enough to half-gracefully collapse to her knees.

Alex never even got a chance to form a coherent question if her lover was okay, strong fingers digging into her hips and that avid mouth on her rippled belly. Hunching up, Alex's back protected Lena from getting half drowned, but the water fell around her like a thousand tiny waterfalls. It was a glorious sight, one emblazoned into Lena's memories, the glistening little drops streaming over that soft skin and the tendrils of Alex's hair, her face a grimace, eyes black pools of sheer intensity.

Some annoying part of her brain wondered if being on her knees like this wasn't humiliating, beneath her station, not worthy of the familial name that caused so many mixed emotions. But more of her was just crazy for this complicated woman, the heart and soul and beauty of her.

Completely crazy about her.

With little preamble, Lena suckled her way to the heart of the sexual tension in Alex's body. Like her own orgasm, it didn't take much work; they'd been on edge the entire day. Panting, Alex braced herself against the shower wall with one arm and reached down to ruffle Lena's drenched hair with the other. After a moment, she lazily stripped off her soaked bra and slid down beside her lover to share kisses in the warm water still spattering down on them.

"Welcome to Hawaii," Lena teased and they laughed quietly together. Lazy touching settled them and brought up the playful friskiness that had always been such a strong part of their dynamic. Giggling, Lena abruptly crawled away across the grouted pebble floor with its colorful tile fish and did her best to seductively strip off her ruined panties. The saturated material clung and fought her, making Alex chuckle and follow, nipping at Lena's fingers to both help and hinder. With heads and shoulders out of the fall of still-warm water, they lost track of time for a long while, just touching and kissing lazily.

Lena loved how avid Alex was in her eagerness to touch. Yes, some of it was the novelty of femininity, Lena was aware of that, but there was something so… adoring as well. It was as though she were speaking through her hands, the brush of their bared skins. From a casual skim of fingertips in the most G-rated of touches to riding her fingers like a porn star, all of it soothed Lena, far too often deprived of the simple joy of contact with another person.

At the moment though, the amorous couple were definitely closer to the porn star end of the spectrum.

Shifting to straddle Alex, Lena settled with the shower spray on her shoulders and back, slicking her hair to her skin. Long tendrils trailed loosely here and there, carrying the water down to Alex's skin.

"I know I've said the equivalent of it before, but for someone who's never been with a woman before me, you are really, really good at this."

"Oh yeah?" Alex leered at the compliment, skimming over Lena's torso and dipping thumbs into that enticing little valley of soft labia and straining tendons of inner thigh.

Rolling her hips lewdly earned Lena a choked noise of pure lust and she grinned, slow and filthy. "I know penetration isn't your thing, and I'm still totally okay with that, but do you think I might be able to persuade you to harness up and screw me against the nearest semi-safe surface someday? 'cause god, that would be hot." Caught up in the avalanche of mental images that little speech called up, Alex could only pant and twitch in response. Still, Lena caught the little pucker of doubt between dark brows. "And no, I do not miss at all having a lover with outdoor plumbing, baby, I just love your hands on me and imagine being able to touch with no distractions. And yes, you can say no."

Alex's scientist brain was intrigued by the idea, looking down where her own hands lay against her lover's thighs. There were definite limitations in range of motion and certainly some positions they'd fucked in were hell on the wrist. And the mental image of Lena spread open like this, riding her, Alex's hands free to rove elsewhere…

"Yeah, I can see the appeal of that, sexy."

Lena doubted she would ever tire of watching Alex think. For a secretive badass federal agent with reflexes like a snake, the woman was generally an open book. She couldn't help but wonder if it was just Alex, or her company. She really hoped it was the latter.

"Is that thing ever going to run out of water?" Alex marveled to ease the tension in the room and Lena gave her a quick smooch before getting to wobbly feet.

"I'll easily admit that so far, I'm enjoying the spoiling of this place. Remind me to give Jess a raise when I get back to work."

Lazy as a cat, though maybe otter was a better animal with all this water, Alex cupped her hands under her head and ogled. The regard made Lena grin, fighting off the urge to blush at the sweetness of her expression.

"I'll be right back. I need to actually clean up."

Enjoying the retreating view, Alex took a moment to regain her own feet to study the complicated digital touch pad that controlled the shower. She just wanted to switch showerheads, not launch a missile!

"I randomly found your accoutrements first," Lena said breezily as she returned with hands full. "Luckily, I like smelling like you, Tiger."

Seeing her lover backlit by the courtyard outside left Lena's mouth dry and made her pause for a long, hot moment. For her part, Alex was both thrilled and embarrassed by the regard, by no means used to it.

Eventually they got around to washing up, making a sensual game of it and barely drying off before tumbling into the enormous bed. The sound of voices babbling nearby woke Alex with a start, blinking blearily and tonguing dark strands of hair out of her mouth. It was still full daylight, but she could tell by the lethargy in her muscles that they'd slept for a decent amount of time. 

Lena murmured sleepily, coming half awake and snuggling back even closer to Alex's stronger frame. In precious moments like this, Alex found herself admiring her lover simply for the pleasure of doing so. 

They were nearly identical in height, Alex a shade taller, but their builds remained completely different. Lena was narrower across shoulder and hip, heavier breasted and softer around the edges. Franky, Alex loved that softness. There was never a moment's doubt that she was with a woman and perhaps it was a little shallow of her, but she liked that Lena was so traditionally feminine, right down to the expansive mane of mahogany hair. 

An expansive mane that had gotten everywhere while they napped. Honestly, how the hell had Alex ended up with half the mass caught under her head and neck? Oh, right, they had splayed out the strands to let them dry and gotten to kissing again. Alex's own hair was probably in no less of a tangled state, there was just less of it. All the marine humidity had turned both of them wavy and soft.

"I can hear you thinking, Tiger. You good?"

Lena's already deep voice was ever throatier, the smile rich in her tone. Half sitting up to sweep the dark hairs out of the way left their hips pressed close and Lena wiggling her ass suggestively into Alex's lap was distracting.

"Very okay," she mumbled warmly, threading her half-asleep arm back under Lena's head and pressing as close as she could. Not so long ago, Alex would have never been able to comprehend the pleasure of such closeness. Not just the closeness, but the wanting it.

Lena adored the cuddling. She should feel trapped, half suffocated by the way Alex clung to her, tucked her body as close as possible. Instead, she felt protected and cared for.

Some time passed in quiet, but the pair were familiar enough with one another now to know that neither of them had fallen back to sleep. It was Alex that finally broke the quiet, her voice subdued. "It just feels… weird, I guess, to have nothing to do."

Squirming around onto her back, Lena reached down to drag Alex's thigh over her hips before cradling the encircling arm close to her heart. In the balmy light of their tropical getaway, those deep eyes showed flares of grays and subtle greens like a satellite photo of earth.

"I meant what I said before," Lena said unexpectedly, her tone quiet and a bit raw as she shifted to trail gentle fingers around Alex's facial features. They way she looked so intently always left Lena feeling shaky and adored.

"About?"

"I haven't dated much, or even been out, and certainly not with any seriousness, really, ever. You feel different… Alex."

That sweet smile would be the death of her, but what a way to go. "I was ready for you. Who knew, huh?"

Their smiles turned goofy and Alex nuzzled Lena's temple, scratching trapped fingers lightly over her heart.

"Figuring out it was women, well, remembered more accurately, was a hell of a shock. But it made me feel… whole again. And my first try at it didn't work, but there was so much tension there, so much anticipation and nerves that it sorta felt like maybe too much from the very start. But, yeah, it left me ready for you."

"I'm sorry things didn't work out with Maggie."

It was the last thing Alex expected to hear and she pulled away far enough to study her lover's face. Lena was a clear mess of jealous but empathetic, her open gaze not wavering as Alex shifted her body to loom over her. "Part of me is too, I won't lie to you, but I chose you, Lena. Willingly. I still have some baggage to deal with involving Maggie, but I'll work on that later when we can go home."

"No cheating on me?" The tone was teasing, but there was no missing the vulnerable undertone. Dipping down to kiss lightly at those soft lips, Alex's reply was low and serious.

"No ma'am. I promise. Do you?"

"Yes. I promise."

They were ready to lose themselves again, but in an repeat of their first trip away all those weeks ago, Lena's stomach growled like a rabid dog, echoed by Alex's guts. Their mutual wry look turned to giggling and a few last kisses before they scrambled to get ready to be out in public.


	4. Lazy Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That was cute enough, but Alex had also attempted a cartoon tiger scampering across the paper. It was terrible and wonderful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I admit it, I had far, far too much fun letting Alex pick on Winn in this chapter. Their odd broTP has been one of the high points of season 2 and I had to play with that. Also, a couple of overdue conversations in here!

Granny had been pleased to get her newest visitors fed up in fine style and caught up on the amenities of the cozy little resort. The security had been far more elaborate than expected and both Alex and Susan were faintly grumbly that they hadn't even seen half of it. After hanging around and chatting with the older woman and a couple members of her staff that came through, the two couples wandered around before Alex and Kyra found-- to their horror-- that their girlfriends had not seen the awesome Ghostbusters reboot. So they ended up sprawled all over the smaller bungalow's living room to remedy that oversight.

Then the pairs had split up to take advantage of the luxurious surroundings and privacy.

Lena blinked slowly awake to late morning sunshine and a warm breeze rustling the gauzy curtains. It was a perfect romantic morning that unfortunately took a backseat to the fact that the bed contained only her sleepy self.

"Restless," Lena muttered affectionately and noticed a folded piece of paper on the bedstand with a fresh blossom tucked into it.

_Went jogging, but I'll bring you coffee.  
-your Tiger xoxo_

That was cute enough, but Alex had also attempted a cartoon tiger scampering across the paper. It was terrible and wonderful.

Slipping into light clothes, Lena decided to see if the interface between L-Corp and the DEO was up and running, chuckling when a weary-grumpy Winn scowled at her over the video link.

"Good morning, sunshine," she teased him lightly and Winn squinted dramatically.

"You look like this person I know. Ugh, fancy tropical light…"

Amused by his dramatics, Lena pretended to look very serious and thoughtful. "Tell you what. If things ever calm down, you can come along next time."

"Really?" Like a puppy promised a treat, Winn perked right up. "Sweet! What can I do for ya, pal?"

They rambled on about the interface, calling up Jess to join the impromptu video conference. It felt good to get something done and to be reassured that things weren't going to hell in a hand basket in her absence. 

Eventually the door rattled and startled her, Alex's voice floating into the quiet bungalow. "Hey babe, you up? Turns out Granny bakes too and I have fresh donuts I don't have to share with the eating machine!"

"Back in a few," Lena said hurriedly and hit the mic's mute button, pretending to ignore Jess' amusement, hidden behind a hand raised to her mouth. Winn rolled his eyes as Lena vanished from the camera.

"Oh please," he scoffed. "Like the whole office hasn't figured out you're swingin' from the rafters with Action Danvers."

Alex met her girlfriend at the bedroom door, one eyebrow raised at the sassy comment. Her hands were full with a pair of fancy wooded cases, but she leaned into a welcome home kiss.

"You're good, we're muted on this end."

"Oh?" An evil grin spread over Alex's face. "Good, let me go mess with Winn."

The computer wiz visibly jumped when Lena's laptop camera swung wildly to reveal a sweaty, scowling Agent Danvers looking like she was going to reach across twenty-six hundred miles and throttle him. She poked the mute button with the all the coiled violence in which she had threatened to kill him days ago.

"I'll have you know that I'm far better girlfriend material than that, Schott!"

For a moment, he looked like a deer in headlights, even Jess visibly startled before bursting into peals of laughter. Alex smiled sweetly with just enough teeth to make Winn pout sourly at her.

"You are so mean."

"And I owe you a smack to the head when I get home."

"Again???"

"Again," she mock-scowled before smiling sunnily and waving them both off as she clambered back to her feet. "Carry on!"

Completely amused by the theatrics, Lena took her place, her expression wry. Winn sighed melodramatically and pouted. "Y'know, I feel like I've gained the sibling I always wanted. Lucky me."

They got back to business as Alex unpacked the cases she'd hauled in, revealing that they were insulated and contained carefully arranged foodstuffs. When she brought over a couple small trays of coffee, donuts and what looked like yogurt and chopped fruit, Lena tugged her down for a quick, sweet kiss. For all her earlier bluster, Alex flushed at Winn's 'awwwww'ing and promptly escaped, to the amusement of the whole video conference.

About five feet away, Alex noticed that there was a thrum of nearly unnoticeable sound reverberating in her jawbone and the voices grew muddy and incomprehensible. Lena only grinned at her curious look, gesturing at the computer. The sophisticated white noise generator was a reminder that her girl was so much more than just a pretty face with a bankroll and Alex's faint smile was pure fondness.

Wrapping up her call, Lena made no effort to resist the urge to find her girl, slipping into the sprawling bathroom to enjoy the sight of Alex wet and naked in the fancy shower. 

"Hey, if you're gonna ogle, come scrub my back," she teased, but Lena could hear that edge of sweetly embarrassed self-consciousness there. Well, she couldn't have that now, could she?

Pausing to open the two enormous glass panels they'd discovered were doors to the very private patio and its very high walls, Lena stripped off her lightweight outfit and stepped in to wrap herself around Alex's back in a hug.

"I got your message, you know."

For a long moment, Lena puzzled the unexpectedly sober comment, before hazy recollection slammed into her. She'd been such a mess that night, so lonely and hurting. "That night's a little hazy…"

"I know," Alex soothed, turning around so that she could hug Lena properly. "I broke a little, hearing you so devastated."

Had she spoken out loud? Lena wasn't certain.

"I wanted to rush to your side. I'm glad everything turned out as well as it could have and so, so sorry that all of this turned out to be your mother. I can't even imagine…"

Part of Lena resented hearing the words, remembering how alone she had been for that, but more of her wallowed in being acknowledged so openly. "I told you, I just did what I had to."

Leaning back from the hug. Alex kissed her sweetly, murmuring against her mouth, "no, you did much more than that."

The sudden sob that heaved up from Lena's chest hardly surprised either of them. "It… it was like Lex all over again!"

The whimper of agony cut through Alex like a shared pain and she gripped Lena close while she shook and cried.

"Why? How could they… Why…"

The same night when Lena had drunk herself stupid and left that heartfelt message, Henshaw had planted that viral bomb at the Dollywood bar, killing three of the alien refugees to Earth. Maggie and Kara both had nearly been killed by Henshaw, the terror Alex had felt in seeing the isotope explode golden red and strangely beautiful across the sky still lingered in her memories.

Together, they were strong enough to get through and their combined pains were soothed away by the falling water around them.

\----

The weather was perfect to be out and about, but none of the four vacationers could find the gumption to do more than laze about the gorgeous mini-resort squirreled away in the middle of Once Upon a Time Farm. 

Lena and Kyra had found a favorite spot out by the crystalline pool. It turned out the polycarbonate panels set into the elevated tree roots were UV coated to provide more than just protection from rain and falling leaves. Since the two women were both equally pale despite their differing hair colors, they were relishing being able to safely sun worship with a freedom rarely afforded them. 

Their combined laughter suddenly burst through the quiet afternoon and Lena sat up and pointed a waggling finger at her new pal, face alight with mirth. This unfettered, beautiful girl was a million miles from the powerful captain at the helm of her family's tattered legacy who carried so many deep hurts.

Alex was half-asleep at the edge of the patio, only her feet in the sunlight, the fallen tree providing plenty of shade. Susan tapped away at a laptop nearby and she could have been working on state secrets or playing solitaire for all Alex knew. The laziness was welcome after the stress of the earlier emotional breakdown but it was also drugging and she had very mixed feelings about it.

"I see you're living up to your nickname, Tiger," Lena's teasing voice half-roused Alex from her stupor.

"'M not used to bein' lazy," she slurred softly, tossing a loose arm around Lena's hips when she perched herself on the edge of the lounger to lean over her indolent tiger.

"I like you relaxed like this." Pressing little kisses to Alex's face and petting her forehead and cheek, Lena soaked up her ease, the brush of thumb over her bare hip. It never ceased to thrill her how Alex casually touched her every chance she got. "You think we can head into town a bit later? No rush."

"Island time, right? Of course we can. I want to see how the surf is, see if I can rent a board."

"Well, I've wanted to watch you surf again, though I think the other half of that particular fantasy will have to wait for a more private location."

"Sweet talker."

Susan thought they were cute as hell, bodies easy with each other, Alex with that goofy, drunken smile on her pretty face. She probably had little idea that her hand was tracing the edge of Lena's bikini bottom, slipping just under the edge to explore the curve of well-formed asscheek. 

The faint coughing noise she made wasn't uncomfortable exactly, but it was amused. And while Susan had long suspected that Kara had learned most of her Human body language from her beloved sister, it was funny as hell to see that pout-- the famous one-- on Alex's face as Lena gave her a light smooch and stood up.

"Susan," Lena intoned haughtily and waited for a reply. Susan was reminded of an imperious cat as she inclined her head with mock gravity; though the effect was mostly ruined by the warm amusement in her eyes. So Susan willingly played along as Alex sat up to rub her face awake.

"Lena," Susan intoned with mock gravity and nodded at her.

Appeased by the harmless play, Lena tossed her hair and sashayed away with enough swish in her step that Alex found herself swallowing hard, hands clenching up for a moment.

"Good thing she's taken or we'd have a hell of a time keeping her safe," Susan teased and kept her blasé expression when Alex looked over sharply. Heaven help the poor idiot who made a move at Lena and encountered this dangerous guard dog!

It took real effort for Susan not to laugh at how far gone her fellow agent was.

"So we had the 'going steady' conversation yesterday," Alex suddenly blurted out, her entire body language shifting wildly. Her tone was tense and nervous, as though the words were forcing their way out whether she liked it or not and her facial expression was hilarious, mouth and nose twisted up like a small child faced with a case of the cooties. "and I feel like… like…"

"You're flying but terrified you're gonna fall and die?" Susan supplied helpfully, her voice gentle and she set her computer aside. Alex looked both relieved and conflicted. 

"Yeah, sort of. I mean, I'm happy but I'm scared stiff! If it were just sex, I wouldn't be so…" a cartoonish wave of one arm replaced the word Alex couldn't find and Susan grinned. Abruptly the younger woman looked shocked and humiliated, curling into herself. "God, I'm sorry, this is so unprofes--"

"Don't say it," Susan broke in roughly enough to stop the self-conscious babbling. "I'm here because I'd like to be your friend. I'll make you a deal. Off the clock, we can be Alex and Susan and we'll stick to being badass Thing One and Thing Two at work. Deal?"

It was painful to see how surprised Alex looked at the blunt offer, how she hesitated.

"Relax, Alex. I'm a friend, not a bomb."

"Okay," Alex finally managed to say, still dazed by the blunt offer of friendship. Then abruptly she grinned like an idiot, earning a wide grin in response. "Okay. Yeah, I'd really like that. Deal."

She was so childishly pleased that Susan was completely warmed even as she hurt for this amazing woman who was so shocked by an open offer of friendship.

Swinging her feet to the ground, Alex exaggeratedly thrust out her right hand and Susan laughed and did the same. They shook on it like hyper kids, rough and silly, jostling one another's arms until both were chuckling.

"Now lean forward." Puzzled, Alex did as asked, snapping back in shock when Susan smacked her up alongside the head. "As your newly-minted friend, I say with love, that you are a reckless idiot and knock it off. It's not just you and Kara against the world anymore, _capise_? So, tell me more about your hot badgirl."

From deadpan threatening to wide-eyed gossiping teenager, Susan's behavior left Alex baffled. Was this really her stoic right hand who Alex swore sometimes could read her mind? Their time separated by distance hadn't minimized the uncanny ability and Alex had been impossibly grateful to have Susan back in her corner during the most recent insanity.

"I really missed you. The last couple of weeks would have been so much worse without you around."

That nakedly emotional statement left Alex looking a bit like a deer in headlights and softened Susan's silly expression into a warm smile. "I missed you too. And you're very welcome."

Wisely, Susan didn't say more, both of them grabbing their drinks and lounging back in their comfy seats to watch their girlfriends idly. After a couple of minutes, the emotional tension had eased.

"You think she's hot?"

Susan refused to grace that mischievous statement with more than a dry look that earned a quirky grin. "I'm taken, not dead, Danvers, and my girlfriend is often away for days or even weeks at a time." If possible, her expression got even drier. "That smug grin of yours is both endearing and obnoxious."

The snerk was almost a giggle, a snapshot of the sort of teenager Alex must have been years ago, before life pummeled her into a much more serious shape. Susan felt very honored to be witness to her ease.


	5. Sister's Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rush of relief was even more potent than the adrenaline and she yanked on one of their discarded shirts as she rushed the door. Kara was rocked back on her heels, superpowers or no, by the sheer force of her sister's hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of domestic fluff here with some angst to ground it all.

Eventually cleaned up and dressed for an outing, the foursome were quickly supplied by Granny's team with a spunky little car and a GPS already programmed with some local highlights and they were off to Haleiwa. They played tourist and shared a variety of local foods and marveled at the big waves roaring onto shore.

"I surf, but I'm not getting anywhere near those monsters," Alex exclaimed with a shudder at the watery violence and only Kyra caught Lena's look of disappointment. 

"Maybe the conditions will be better tomorrow?"

Alex grinned at the smaller redhead. "You gonna take lessons and join me?"

"Hell no," Kyra barked and the others laughed. Fascinated and unnerved by the violent sea, she slipped under Susan's left arm and draped both arms around her waist. They had an ease to them, a familiarity that could only come with time invested. Standing close by, Alex and Lena stood hand in hand, watching the water and their companions.

Eventually, the others let Lena herd them off to a local surf shop to get kitted up. She waved off the splutterings about her picking up the tab and told the wide-eyed employees to take care of her group. While Kyra hesitantly eyeballed the ukuleles hanging from the ceiling, Alex was drawn to the racks of surfboards. She ran her hand over some of them, draw to their sleek perfection, unadorned with sticky wax or fins or leashes. These had never felt the kiss of the ocean or skimmed a wave.

A shaggy-haired, handsome fellow had trailed after them to help out, but he hung back as Lena approached to set her hand on her lover's back.

"Would you rather have a custom one made just for you?"

"That would take too long, but thank you for thinking of me. Besides, how often will I actually need a North Shore board?"

As Alex and the employee fellow fell into shop talk over surfing, Lena smiled fondly and wandered off to leave them to it. Outside, the waves still roared across the ocean, few surfers braving the fury and Lena hoped there would be better conditions for her girl soon enough. 

\----

A knock on the door in the dead of night nearly sent Alex right through the roof. Adrenaline burned through the haze of sleep and she was instantly wondering where the hell her gun was. Her jolt of alarm woke Lena, who wisely kept her head down.

"Alex?"

The rush of relief was even more potent than the adrenaline and she yanked on one of their discarded shirts as she rushed the door. Kara was rocked back on her heels, superpowers or no, by the sheer force of her sister's hug.

"Where the hell have you been? I am so mad at you!"

The hissed words were more relief than anger and Kara knew it. With that effortless strength she picked Alex up and stepped into the bedroom, never breaking the hug.

"I'm sorry. Barry showed up in my apartment and needed my help."

"Barry? Your speedster buddy from another dimension?"

"It took him a few tries to find me."

In the dim light from the walkway outside, Lena watched the sisters cling to one another. It was a relief to see Kara, to feel Alex's stress ease. She'd been getting more and more agitated all day, ignoring the calmer ocean conditions that she could surf and nagging at Winn over the phone, who was as baffled as she was at Kara's absence. If there hadn't been two and half thousand miles of empty ocean between themselves and National City, Lena had no doubt Alex would have been long gone.

"Was that a dimensional portal that opened in my lobby?" Lena enquired in a teasing tone, carefully wrapping the sheet around herself as she sat up to click on the bedside lamp. Both sisters looked over with a smile, Kara's tinged with exasperation. 

"You were supposed to be hiding at that point."

"What can I say, I've never been good at staying away from trouble."

They all chuckled together, the sisters easing apart a bit. That was when Kara abruptly waved Alex off, hands flapping and head turned away. "Oh come on! Put some pants on, sheesh, Alex! I'm, uh, gonna go wait in the living room."

"That's what you get for knocking on the bedroom door!" Lena couldn't resist calling after her, voice shaking with mirth. 

Alex was as mortified as Lena was amused as they scrambled into clothes.

"So embarrassing," Alex muttered direly to herself, but let Lena pull her into a long, sweet kiss.

"Now don't try and tell me that catching you pantsless is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened between you two."

The faint blush across Alex's cheekbones deepened and Lena cracked up, swatting her across the rump. 

"I'll nag you for whatever story engendered that reaction at a later date, babe."

Nosing around the kitchenette, Kara lit up at the sight of them, sweeping both women into a bone-creaking hug. "I'm sorry to barge in, but I really needed to see you. Both of you."

Lena was thrilled to be included, to once again feel that potent inclusion of being part of a family that truly wanted her.

"Gently, Kara," Alex warned softly at the strength of the squeezing and the pressure backed off, but not by much. "Stressful, huh?"

"His Earth doesn't have aliens. Well, they didn't anyway. And this strange race showed up and he came looking for my help and… yeah, it got ugly a few times. Barry's friends were really interesting, and so was seeing another version of Earth, but it didn't feel right. Especially without you watching my back."

She sounded so vulnerable, so weary. It was heart-wrenching.

"I should have been with you," Alex mourned and Lena couldn't help the pang of guilt. Both of them squeaked at the hard compression of Kryptonian arms.

"No, you have more responsibilities now than just me. This is where you needed to be. It's one of the reasons I came to you instead of just calling. You can see that I'm okay and I can see that you're okay."

Alex wanted to rail at her, wallow in the guilt that she hadn't been at her sister's back during yet more shenanigans. "I'm still mad at you," she grumbled and Kara let out the tiniest sound of weary amusement.

"Good, that means we're still alive."

The words meant so much more than just this incident. It was the Medusa Virus and Parasite and Myriad and Fort Rozz and Red Tornado and the endless parade of adversaries and emergencies that was the reality of Supergirl and the DEO.

"Are you hungry?" Lena asked quietly rubbing her hand over Kara's back and marveling at the texture of the cape. She earned soft chuckles from both sisters and they shifted to smile at her.

"You've gotten with the program fast, Lena," Kara teased, her sunny personality still there despite her exhaustion and shadows. "Luckily for you, Barry has the same sort of caloric issues that I do, so I ate well, and J'onn topped me off with snacks before I flew here."

"Then sleep is next. You look exhausted."

"You don't mind?"

Honestly, the poor woman looked like a lost puppy and Lena stretched up to give her a little peck between pale eyes. "Of course I don't mind, Kara, you're my friend. And you can't claim me as family and not lean on me sometimes."

Alex marveled at how Kara relaxed more and sighed shakily. It was a revelation and a reminder; it really wasn't just the two of them against the world any more. There were others that could help care for them now.

"Come on, Supergirl, let me find you something to sleep in." 

Teasing and bossy, Alex broke up the hug and herded her weary sister off to change while Lena puttered about to give them a few minutes of privacy. The enormous open window of the bungalow was a dead giveaway to how Kara had slipped in and the realization was sweet and a little sobering, just another reminder how powerful she really was.

Lena shrugged off that old fear once again and poked her head into the bedroom to see how they were doing. Alex was just clambering over Kara where she was already curled up near the edge of the bed, once more just sweet younger Danvers with her ponytail and borrowed jammies. With a great, gusty sigh, Alex curled up loosely near the middle of the big bed.

"C'mere," Alex coaxed, but there was a defensive edge in her voice. "Unless you think it's weird."

Kara hadn't relaxed, her body a tense brick in the bed, body curled in echo of her sister's, hands tangled against her chest, head bowed to press against the base of Alex's neck. What else could Lena do but shrug off stupid propriety and climb in on Alex's other side, snuggling into her.

"I can live with weird."

Both sisters finally began to unwind at the heartfelt words, Kara flinching when Lena reached over to stroke her head, petting the blonde strands until her breath grew shaky, the strain fading slowly away.

"I found you by your heartbeat," Kara whispered in a childlike voice. "Both your heartbeats."

It was these vulnerable moments that soothed Lena's ingrained fears in their proof of how much Kara needed others, a built in check-balance system to the godlike power she wielded. 

It was easy to fall back to sleep to the sound of their breathing.

\----

For once, Lena was the first one awake, blinking in the morning light. She had turned over in her sleep, Alex warm against her back, arm loose under her head. When Lena carefully twisted around to look at her lover, she almost startled at the sight of Kara there.

Flat on her back and seeming utterly unconcerned with the blonde leech clinging to her, Alex lay sprawled out, her other arm loosely tossed around Kara's neck. There was a certain desperation to the way the Kryptonian clung to her sister, head tucked under Alex chin, tilting her head back far enough that she snored quietly. Then Lena remembered what Kara had said about their heartbeats and the way her head lay against Alex's sternum made perfect sense.

Lena couldn't imagine what Kara had been through over her years. To lose her entire family, her whole world and culture, to find herself on this foreign planet where suddenly she had to deal with all these impossible powers. The anchor of the steady heartbeat of the new sister who loved her despite her strangeness must have been a lifesaver. Clearly, it still was.

Sleepy blue eyes blinked half open and Lena stroked Kara's skull. "Stay," she whispered. "I'm going to go get food and coffee, okay?"

Nodding infinitesimally, Kara settled once more, Alex never so much as stirring as Lena slipped away. Knowing the woman's protective instincts, she probably hadn't slept much. It was frustrating and endearing.

It would be very easy to get utterly spoiled to living like this, in these calm tropical settings with no real responsibilities save the ones lurking at the edges of her mind. There were a couple of guests in the main house eating breakfast and a pair of employees at the counter separating the big kitchen from the rest of the space.

"Good morning!"

"Thank you. Good morning to you too. May I have a couple of the biggest, meatiest, decadently over the top platters you'll make me? It feels like that sort of morning."

Chuckling, the pair set to work.

"Coffee service today?"

"Yes please. And I was thinking about dragging my party out for a picnic. Could I get something for that?"

"Absolutely. Would you like me to prepare it, or would you rather raid the pantry?"

"Oh, that sounds like fun."

"Go for it. We'll be a few minutes here for your breakfast. Everything you'll need is through those doors."

And what a pantry is was too! The large room was a well-stocked store of foodstuffs and related supplies. Clearly the picnic idea was a common one for there were traditional hampers stacked under a worktable as well as a handful of insulated cases to be worn like backpacks. With an eye for topping off Kara's superpowered stomach as well as maybe an actual picnic, Lena filled one of each.

The employee was completely unfazed by the quantity of things, merely tallying up about half of it. "Don't worry about the perishables, Miss Luthor. We get all that from the farm and your admission covers it. All that concerns us for inventory and billing is the things like the cheeses and wines and packaged goods. Those come from outside, often shipped in. Ah, you spotted the garlic loaf, good choice! Hey, we have a terrific tapenade that goes with that. Would you like a cup?"

With a few extras to compliment her selections, Lena accepted the offer for a helping hand in hauling her bounty back to the bungalow. Without a word, he set the picnic basket and the coffee box beside the door and shrugged off the insulated cold case slung across his torso before melting away.

Seriously, Lena was so promoting Jess for finding her this place.

She set down the covered breakfast trays and went to retrieve her little family. Only Kara lay there, staring out the window, though she smiled faintly at the pet over her head. She still looked stressed and sad. "Alex is in the shower. I'm sort of a furnace and it's already warm here."

"No problem, we can start in on breakfast. There's plenty. Come on."

The staff had gone above and beyond, taking 'the biggest, meatiest, decadently over the top platters you'll make me' very seriously. There were even a handful of fresh donuts. Lena happily worked on one outrageous tray while Kara vacuumed up the other and they both went on about how good it all was.

Alex was completely charmed by them as she paused in the doorway before joining the feasting. Kara didn't pause in eating, but did lean into the kiss to her crown. Lena tilted her head up for a proper kiss, tasting of bacon and donuts and coffee.

"Tasty."

"It is, but I'm pretty much full, so take my place. God, I'm going to need some serious exercise after eating like this. Oh, and Kara, you browse the picnic supplies if you need to. There's plenty. And whatever's left will make a nice picnic. I'm off to shower."

Lena startled and giggled when Kara paused to snake out a long arm as she walked by, hugging the dark-haired woman and grinning up at her. "Thanks, Lena."

"My pleasure."

Alex was doing her best to eat like a civilized being, but Kara's bottomless appetite had taught her too well to get what she could when she could. The damn superspeed stealing of bites here and there was an old game that still made her growl. Which is why Kara did it, of course. 

"She's really good at this," Kara commented and Alex nodded, swallowing down her mouthful.

"She is. But that doesn't surprise me anymore."

"Adversity hardens some, and some it makes much sweeter."

The words were melancholy and true, making Alex reach across the table to squeeze her sister's arm.


	6. New Friends and Old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the rest of her days, Alex would wish she had gotten a snapshot of the look of naked shock on Susan's face as she too was subjected to one of Kara's bone-creaking hugs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be patient with poor Kyra, she has a lot of weird she's been dealing with for a very long time with very little information. I've really enjoyed her POV of being the normal one in the bunch.
> 
> The Puss in Boots bit towards the end is a personal fave of mine for what will be obvious reasons.

In the end it was just a matter of looking up when the first commercial flight from NCX was scheduled to land in Honolulu so that Kara could pretend to meet them there. It would have been easier to not have Kyra along for the pick up, but Alex was well aware that both Kara and Susan would have been disappointed to not see each other. So, she slipped out to explain the situation to the other couple while Lena stayed behind to keep Kara company. 

"Your kid sister just randomly bought a ticket to Hawaii to bug you on a romantic week away with your girlfriend?"

When Kyra said it that way, arms crossed skeptically, Alex almost stumbled. But as always, Susan had her back.

"They're close."

Alex just shrugged and nodded, hands jammed into her back pockets.

"Close huh? Y'know you talked about Alex here plenty, but not this sister she's so close to. And she's a reporter, so that must be weird, her hanging around at your work, which I know squat about. And that doesn't bug me all the time, but sometimes it does."

It hit too close to home and even Susan faltered. "She was vetted before she was a reporter."

Blinking, Kyra relented and reached out to touch both agents on the arms. "God, I'm sorry you guys, I didn't mean to be such a bitch. That was totally uncalled for, snapping at you about work. I know you can't talk about it, I've always known that. If you'll excuse me, I think I need to have a long talk with my stupid temper."

Clearly frustrated with herself, the diminutive redhead spun and stalked away, leaving two very thoughtful secret agents behind.

"You're lucky," Susan said softly. "Not having to hide everything from Lena. It'll be the anniversary of our first date in eight days and she still thinks I do computer stuff for the FBI. With the occasional field work to explain the bruises."

Alex was uncomfortably reminded of those years before the plane's engines had blown to pieces, before Kara had stood dripping wet on the wing after getting the massive vehicle safely into the water instead of turned into a hideous fireball against that bridge.

Before there was a Supergirl, before she knew who J'onn truly was, before she knew her father still lived. Before a lot of things.

"You'll have to marry her or something," Alex couldn't believe she heard herself say, mouth turning up in a melancholy smile. "So that maybe you can tell her a little bit more."

Susan looked startled as hell, from the teasing or the words themselves, Alex had no clue.

"The plane's due in just after eleven, so we'll be leaving in about twenty minutes if you still want to come along."

"Thanks, Alex."

Both of them were distracted with heavy thoughts as they separated to return to their loved ones.

\----

It was a quiet ride back to Honolulu with only the radio crooning some local artists to them. After three quiet days in the rural setting of the farm, the big city was a bit of a shock, but they all soaked it in.

"That's the place, Susan," Lena said as she leaned forward to place a hand briefly on the other woman's arm. A sterile, echoing parking garage felt nearly foreign to the four and they were happy to escape back into the sunshine.

"Alex!"

That was pretty much all the warning the group got as Kara seemed to appear from nowhere to glomp onto her sister like an overenthusiastic golden retriever. "Oh my god, it's been days!"

"You ham," Alex muttered and returned the hug, unsurprised when a chuckling Lena was dragged into it as well.

"You two look great! Island living suits you. Susan! It's been forever!"

For the rest of her days, Alex would wish she had gotten a snapshot of the look of naked shock on Susan's face as she too was subjected to one of Kara's bone-creaking hugs.

"Uff, you too, Kara. You haven't met my girlfriend, Kyra Hart. Kyra, Kara Danvers."

Whatever Kyra had expected of the little sister, this charismatic wall of sunshine was hardly it. Beaming like a miniature star, Kara offered a hand far more gently then she'd greeted the others. "It really is a pleasure. Susan's talked about you, though I haven't seen her in months and months, and since you've been going out for what must be around a year now, I'll bet there's plenty I've missed."

"Oh plenty, I'm sure," Kyra replied over the gentle but firm handshake. She was a little taken aback by not just the overpowering friendliness, but the little nugget of detail the blonde knew. "And yeah, we've been going out for a year on the eighth."

"That's great! You know, I remember your name from that 'New Musicians in the NC' layout back in June I think it was. Guitar and vocals right? James-- a friend of mine from Catco-- and I were listening to the music files for that and you have a beautiful voice."

Subtly herding the smaller woman towards the nearby sushi restaurant, Kara kept her attention on the stranger, to the enormous amusement of the others. When she started humming a very familiar song, written by Kyra herself, that stopped the redhead in her tracks.

"How did you remember all of that?"

It wasn't confrontational exactly, but she did sound a little unnerved and Kara instantly deflated. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come on so strong. I get jittery around strangers sometimes, at least ones that matter. I was Cat Grant's personal assistant for years before shifting to reporter and remembering details was always a deal breaker. If I get confused by our names being a little similar, please forgive me, Miss Grant had a really strange habit of calling me Keira."

Kyra watched how Alex's hand gently settling on the curve of Kara's neck and shoulder instantly relaxed her. She would guess someone not neuro-typical if pressed and filed that away before smiling for the blonde. "Well, it is an awesome name."

The gentle tease eased Kara further and she perked up. Really, she was just like a friendly pup.

"You just took me off guard a bit. I'm not quite used to complete strangers knowing anything about me, though that article did give me a boost in notoriety."

"Is that good?"

"Better gigs and more music sales? That's always good."

They were quickly deep in a conversation about writing music and trading bits and pieces of song even as the group was taken to a large booth for lunch. 

"And another one bites the dust," Lena murmured and Alex cracked up. Susan was bemused and delighted to see her normally standoffish mate enjoying a stranger and who knew Kara had such a lovely voice?

It turned out the pale-haired women had one more thing in common in their mutual revulsion of eating the raw offerings of the sushi place. They put up with the teasing and stuck to tempura and some cooked nibblies the chefs sent out for them. Lena grossed them out completely by ordering little bits of raw octopus so fresh they were still twitching. Susan nearly choked laughing while Alex wrinkled her nose up.

"You're not getting kisses any time soon, Lee."

Lena just pecked the tip of that cute button nose.

Another of the random deluges pinned them down in the restaurant for a bit before sunshine reigned once more. A few inquiries of the employees had them headed out to Waikiki and the fancy Ala Moana Center for some shopping. Lena was insistent, ecstatically happy to have some girlfriends to drag out for such a girlie outing.

Eventually, Alex noticed Susan hanging back, looking pensive. Kyra noticed too, of course, but Susan reassured her and sent her back to go browse with the others before her expression went conflicted again.

"What's up?"

Jumping, Susan's head whipped around and she glared at Alex for an instant before going antsy once more. "Can I steal you for a bit? Kara's got these two, right?"

Having Susan ask for what was clearly a personal favor was a new experience and Alex nodded quickly. "Of course. Just give me a sec."

With easy good humor, Alex turned away any concern for their leaving unexpectedly and the two agents slipped away.

"So what's eating you, Susan?"

"I want to get a ring."

That brought Alex up short and Susan was clearly torn between nervous and exhilarated. 

"What you said at the farm? About marrying Kyra? You're absolutely right. Her mother's going to murder me for not being in on this, but I'm betting if we get married back in Texas, she might let me live."

Her voice tapered off at Alex's wide grin. "Hard to beat a romantic tropical getaway, huh?"

"I'll say. Am I nuts?"

"Hell no, you guys are amazing together. Now, come on, before we're gone too long and they get suspicious."

The first place they tripped over was so snooty they never got past the front door, but the second place was only marginally uncomfortable and Susan immediately began nosing around. Even with the help of a salesman, both agents were getting antsy about how long the experience was taking.

"How hard can it be to find something with a rose theme that won't interfere with her guitar playing?" Susan muttered and Alex would never admit how funny it was to see her so flustered. Then something caught her eye.

"Hey, Vasquez. C'mere."

It was a nestled set of two rings made of twisted yellow and rose gold reminiscent of a crown of woven roses. The smaller ring was inset with two tiny, flashing diamonds, the more elaborate with a larger stone as the heart of an open bloom.

"God, Danvers, you're a genius. I walked right past it. Twice!"

"Happy to help."

Alex had to help out covering the nearly four grand price ticket but waved off Susan's nervous blathering on about replaying her. 

"Relax, I know you're good for it. Just don't chicken out!"

\----

After avoiding explaining where they had gotten off to, Alex was immediately sly and cajoling. "So the surf conditions are perfect back on North Shore."

"Oh yeah?" Lena smiled, as enamored of this playful side of her lover as always.

"Awww," Kara objected. "We haven't made it to shoes yet!"

"Save me," Susan muttered, only half kidding, and hid being the smaller and completely amused Kyra. "It's The Pout."

Sure enough, Kara's face was the very picture of childish begging, the big blue eyes beseeching. Lena gestured at her with a 'what can I do' shrug, the corners of her mouth twitching. Alex narrowed a glare at her sister for a moment before sweeping Lena into her arms.

"Don't you want to watch me surf?"

The tone was low and coaxing, her face softening into sweet entreaty, the big brown eyes going liquid and dark. It was a potent look and Lena only stared, slack-jawed, completely caught up in the show.

"No fair, I can't beat the Puppy Eyes," Kara sighed in resignation.

"Are those legal?" Kyra questioned in sardonic amusement. "She's like a Human Puss in Boots."

The stereo confusion from both Susan and Kara made the small woman sigh dramatically. 

"Puss in Boots? From the Shrek movies? Honestly, woman, why do I love you again?"

That made Susan shake her head and dole out an affectionate kiss while Kara laughed. "Puss In Boots has nothing on Alex! I can't believe I never made that connection before."

Lena traced a finger over Alex's mouth and skimmed over her cheekbone and around the curve of eye socket. "This is a very potent look, lover. Should I sign over the company? My entire fortune? Both ovaries?"

The abrupt leer she received completely ruined the effect and neither could give a damn about mussing the other in a long kiss.

So Kara missed out on shoe shopping but was happily mollified by a swimsuit and proper flip-flop shoes at the surf shop while Alex's new gear was brought out for inspection. They had installed the fins and leash and the electric SharkShield that Lena had talked her girlfriend into. The lump of the device at the tail of the board was odd, but Alex was sure she could ignore it. They'd even waxed it adequately, leaving a sticky film for her feet to keep purchase on.

Then it was time to face the waves.

For all the surf was not the snarling maelstrom so famous of the North Shore, it was still a far cry from most of California's breakers. But there was only one way she was going to experience the thrill of the famous North Shore, and that was to just dive in.

Lena stopped Alex with a hand on her arm, pressing in for a quick, loving lip lock. 

"Go get 'em, Tiger."

And Alex was off to war with the benediction of her lady's kiss.

 

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/p__/images/4/45/Puss_in_Boots_Eyes.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131008123041&path-prefix=protagonist


	7. Multi-talented

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When one of the other guests asked for something with a local flare, Kyra was perfectly fine setting aside her instrument and curling up under Susan's offered arm. After a couple of unfamiliar pieces, the three locals shifted to a peppier tune, the drummer adding a fine, clean tenor to the talent of his tapping hands against the stretched skins. It took most of them a moment to realize they were hearing 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' with a distinctively island mix, Ruby's ukulele weaving an intricate tune around the singer's voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I first heard this song not so long ago while watching a show called Aerial America, on the Smithsonian Channel. The sweeping aerial shots of the gorgeous Hawaiian Islands set to this beautiful tune stuck with me and I was happy to be able to use a little of that feeling here. (PS: On a completely random note, guess which episode popped up this morning on my TV? Yup. And I'm watching it AS I POST!)  
> Somewhere over the Rainbow - by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwoʻole https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I 
> 
> And for those of you that have not heard Chyler Leigh's gorgeous voice? She and her hubby are super talented. They sound amazing no matter what they sing, but the music itself on this one speaks to me the most.  
> Nowhere - by Nathan West and Chyler Leigh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhFNiwdt5YE

For nearly an hour, the gang watched Alex play with the waves and horsed around in the tamer sluices of water that climbed high on the sand. Thankfully, Kyra had remembered to grab a bottle of sunblock and slathered up everyone but Susan, the lucky recipient of genetics that let her bake darker instead of broil like a lobster. Kara felt silly putting the stuff on, but it maintained her cover of being pale and Human. Lena teased her about missing a spot and earned an exasperated look.

At least as famous as the North Shore's notorious big water and aggressive local surfers was the terrible overcrowding. More often than not, Alex would get lost in the mob, but Kara could always find her if she was visible. She stuck to the outskirts at first, choosing more tame offerings and avoiding the others. With time and observation she started to get the hang of the wilder water, working her way towards where the waves would wall up and curl over.

"I don't get it," Kara mused thoughtfully. "There are less torturous ways to live."

The look Susan shot her so clearly said, 'seriously?' that it made Kara look sheepish and Lena to start laughing.

"And there's sharks!"

Susan just shook her head, completely amused that the most powerful being on the Pacific Rim was spazzing over sharks.

Eventually Alex bit off more than she could chew and was sent pinwheeling like a cartoon character to crash down hard and vanish beneath the water. Kara was about to fly off, secret identity be damned, when the half-limp Alex let the roiling water haul her to shore.

Uncaring about their pantlegs, and with shoes left where they'd been sitting, Alex's companions met their weary warrior as she staggered to her feet.

"Damn, Danvers, I knew you were a badass, but that was something else," Susan chortled as she ducked under the left arm, Kara on the right, Kyra grabbing the board where it trailed forlornly on its leash. Coughing tiredly, Alex managed a nod and let them half-carry her across the warm sand. It was pretty funny to watch her sprawl out as though dropped from a great height.

"Whoo hoo," Alex cheered herself with all the enthusiasm of the wiped out. "Go me. Whew… that was a fascinating experience, I have to say. But yeah, gimmie a few minutes to rest and warm up."

Since they were already half soaked anyway, the others decided that they would go back to goofing off in the leading edge of the surf for a bit, but Lena stayed behind. Settling in beside her lover, she pet back the straggling tendrils of wet hair and felt Alex's skin warming in the sunshine. "Did you have fun? Because I have to say that looks like a cross between exhilaration and sheer terror."

Huffing out a quiet laugh, Alex scooted closer. "Not an inaccurate statement. But wow, was that something else."

"You're sexy when you're athletic."

Enjoying the way Lena loomed over her to press whisper kisses over her warming lips, not to mention the shade from her wide-brimmed straw hat, Alex lay passively under the attention. "Oh yeah?"

"Your sister might be the family flier, but you are every bit as impressive in so very many ways."

Both women understood all to clearly what it was to live in the shadow of an extraordinary sibling.

"More so even."

"Lena…"

Lost in one another again, they both jumped when the others finally wandered back to save them from a serious public TMI. A few drops of cool water were enough to get them moving, embarrassed and giggly.

Back at the car, they stuffed Alex into the front seat and Kara gripped the surfboard to the side of the car through the open window. In the fifteenish minutes it took to make the dawdling drive, Kara and Kyra ended up in a rousing round of '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall' that set Alex off into high-pitched, exhausted giggling.

Granny waved off all apologies for the wet upholstery and sand all over the borrowed car. "Don't worry about it girls, this is the islands. I see you brought a friend."

With explanations of who Kara was, Granny was happy to put her up in the main building where there were little guest rooms. Kara was a bit sulky that she was going to have to be separated from the others, but was also aware that she'd crashed their romantic getaway. With Kara's bag stashed in her room, the group headed out, pausing when Granny called out to them. 

"Oh, that reminds me, the terrace is repaired enough to use finally, so we'll be doing dinner up there in about an hour. We get a pretty nice view of the sunset to the northwest."

"Sounds good to me. How about the rest of you?"

They all murmured agreement with Kyra and Granny was clearly pleased that she would have more guests for the little event. It was pretty clear that Alex was still tired and a bit bamboozled from her tumble-- not to mention needing a shower-- and Lena had that lusty look in her eye, so Susan just shook her head and offered to show Kara around the place. Kyra begged off to scratch a different itch, her songcraft, lain neglected for days.

The highlights of the tour had Susan laughing more than once. Kara was so delighted with the intricate sculpture of the fallen trees that she scrambled up like a monkey.

"Come on!" she called down to Susan who just squinted up at her happy face and yelled back with a grin.

"No way, kiddo. I know you're cheating anyway."

Kara just stuck her tongue out and clambered higher until she was amidst the polycarbonate panels and twisted wood, face to the wind from the ocean. She looked young and peaceful even with that undercurrent of melancholy she carried with her every moment. It was as sweet as it was heartwrenching. An effect that was ruined when her face suddenly wrinkled up in disgust and she looked back at the nearby bungalows.

"Take it slow, Kara," Susan warned when it looked the Kryptonian was going to blow her cover in her haste. "How about a walk in the fields? There's paths out there that will take us far from the buildings."

Pathetically grateful for the escape from what her senses had picked up from her sister's general direction, Kara was more than happy to follow, glad for Susan's brisk pace.

The hired hands were still out in the expansive fields, cleaning up from their day. When Susan stumbled over a damp football amidst some tomato plants, several of them were happy to join her and Kara in a halfhearted pickup game of touch football. 

"Think you can still beat them at Human levels?" 

Kara rose to the challenge and was skipping with delight at having trounced their opponents as they finally headed back to the cluster of buildings. 

"Oops, we're missing the sunset, Susan."

"Damn… Race you!"

Prevented from using her powers by potential prying eyes, Kara was just slow enough on the uptake that Susan beat her back to the big ranch house.

"Not fair!"

"You snooze you lose!"

Their jovial voices carried on the gentle breeze to the diners atop the ranch house, who all smiled when the pair appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Sorry to interrupt," Susan apologized sheepishly and they joined the group where seats awaited them. Almost immediately, a pretty brunette set plates down for them so that they could dig in.

"Island time," she teased with a winning grin. "Is there anything you'd like to drink, ladies?"

The quintet from National City ate and drank and talked as the sky put on a slow-motion lightshow like a morphing watercolor. It turned out that the pretty brunette was Granny's granddaughter, Ruby, who had heard Kyra rehearsing and had gushed over her talent at the first opportunity. Kyra was always happy with a fan, but even happier with a fellow musician. 

In fact, with the cessation of dinner, instruments were coming out. Everyone redistributed themselves to the other side of the terrace where there was comfy seating and a firepit filled with merry flames. Ruby had brought a small, darker ukulele than Kyra's new baby, and two guys from the staff were there with an oversized acoustic guitar and a trio of wooden drums in a variety of sizes.

They chattered quietly among themselves while the National City crew and a half-dozen other guests settled in. There was scattered amusement when they started out with a disjointed rendition of 'Happy Birthday To You', that quickly smoothed out as they learned one another through the familiar music and watching hands. They muddled their way through several classic rock songs they all knew, and a couple of Bob Marley pieces that Susan marveled that her girl even knew. And not just knew, but played well, her fingers dancing over the familiar blonde Gibson guitar that had been an extension of her body for more than ten years. 

Even after only a year, Susan knew the instrument well, had trailed curious fingers over the strings just to see how they felt, had been seduced by its clear song, had even knocked it over once while they were fooling around and drawn the outraged wrath of her fiery redhead. Once reassured that her beloved guitar was unharmed, Kyra had been willing to be mollified with a long night that still made Susan stifle down a filthy grin.

"What?" Kara asked where she was happily wedged in between Susan and Lena.

"Fond memories," Susan said simply and Alex scoffed quietly where she was sprawled out on her back on the chaise part of the outdoor couch, her shoulders and head resting against Lena's belly and chest.

"More like ogling the guitarist."

The others snickered and Lena gave the bobbed hair she was playing with a little tug of mock-admonishment. 

When one of the other guests asked for something with a local flare, Kyra was perfectly fine setting aside her instrument and curling up under Susan's offered arm. After a couple of unfamiliar pieces, the three locals shifted to a peppier tune, the drummer adding a fine, clean tenor to the talent of his tapping hands against the stretched skins. It took most of them a moment to realize they were hearing 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' with a distinctively island mix, Ruby's ukulele weaving an intricate tune around the singer's voice.

"I know this one," Alex slurred softly, half asleep against her girlfriend. "'S famous and it played in the mall today."

"You were terrific," Susan flirted and nuzzled Kyra's temple, jumping when Kara abruptly elbowed her in the ribs. A shush gesture stopped any commentary as she waved at Alex. Sure enough, a sweet, clear soprano to the drummer's tenor was coming from the sleepy agent.

Lena had frozen in surprise when Alex had started… singing. And not just singing, but singing with a notable talent, her voice an ethereal lilt in the night air. To the drummer's credit, he softened his own performance, coaxing at the strange voice whom he hadn't even identified the owner of yet. When he did figure it out, his delight was obvious. They were halfway through before Alex stumbled over a lyric and she startled completely awake with a start, looking around at her companion's delight and flushing in mortification.

It was Kara who spoke first, her voice quiet and wondrous. "I haven't heard you sing in years. I miss it."

When she leaned in to rest her head against Alex's, Lena didn't even pause, merely moved her arm so that she could pet Kara's hair as well.

"Awww," Kyra crooned, half serious and half mocking. "So cute. Who knew the other Agent Badass was hiding that voice, huh? God, this place is great, we should do this every year."

"I agree," Lena murmured even as Susan stilled, sensing that she'd never have a better opportunity. 

"I see myself doing this with you for the next fifty years."

That caught Kyra's attention. For all that her lover was adoring and attentive, she wasn't normally the romantic mushball type. At least not in words. Twisting a bit to kiss her, Kyra noted that Susan was tense, even a caress over cheek and jaw not unwinding her. "What's up, babe?"

"You know I love you, right?"

Because that wasn't going to make Kyra tense. It was a terrible cliché like 'no good conversation starting with 'we need to talk' ever goes well.' Thankfully Susan rolled her eyes at herself and gently bonked her forehead to Kyra's.

"I'm screwing this up, hang on."

Squirming around, she dug something out of her pocket while muttering, ostensibly for Kyra's ears only. 

"See, not being able to tell you more of what I do got me thinking, and you are the only girl for me. I decided that somewhere along the line and I want to make it a real thing forever, you and me, and Kyra, will you marry me?"

Whatever the hell Kyra had been expecting, it was most definitely not that! She must have paused too long because Susan's puppyishly hopeful and terrified face was starting to fall. And she got herself rocked back into Kara on the other side by a suffocating grip, her ribs objecting.

"Don't you dare puss out on me now, Vasquez. Hell yes, yes, you idiot, yes."

Lost in an adoring kiss with almost a year of practice behind it, it took the couple a few long moments to take any note of the startled congratulations from friends and strangers alike.


	8. To Those That Left Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the woman tilted her head back and laughed, the sound both sacrilegious in the space and so, so welcome. A real smile warmed the stranger's face like a sunrise tinged with clouds of melancholy. Perversely, Maggie noted that the stranger had the same type of misleadingly sweet face as Alex, easy and dangerous to underestimate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, for this chapter and the next, we're going to take a sidestep here to find out what's happening in another corner of this universe! In other words, what has Maggie been up to? There will be no other familiar faces in this and chapter 9, but the usual players will be back after that, have no fear!
> 
> This scene was written ages ago for a completely different character, but there was some funny bits in it (and similar levels of snark, thank you Darcy Lewis!) and I started poking at it and Maggie seemed to fit. It's a little bit world-building, a little bit healing, a little bit of pushing some of the larger story forward. Also, this written before we really knew much about Maggie, so some details will not jive with canon, such as my Maggie is a proud omnivore! Though I'm thinking she might be lactose intolerant, because it gives me an idea for a later scene…
> 
> There are a couple of original characters here, as inspired by some old musely friends of mine. We will meet them again later in the story, as well as some others.

It took some time before Maggie felt she could face the bar again.

That warm, sleazy place where she had felt at home… now reduced to a tomb.

As her bike pulled up to the uncharacteristically clean alley, she noted there were new and very bright lights installed above the backdoor and the signs of recent activity were all over the damp ground. Boots and heavy vehicles and objects with small, round feet had rested in the grime and possibly a few boxes had been dragged through it as well. Over the lingering smell of alley came a savory stink that abruptly reminded the cop that she had not been eating well lately.

The unmarked door beneath the new lights banged open suddenly, making Maggie jump. It was a testament to how rattled she was. A tall, well-built woman stepped out to yank up the top of the nearby dumpster and toss in a plastic sack with easy strength. Unusually, the woman paused before going back into the bar, body still and alert like a guard dog… or someone that had been in a guardian position not unlike Maggie herself.

Steeling herself, Maggie followed the woman through the door, startled at the claustrophobic space she found herself in. The short walkway had been narrowed by two heavy security-mesh gates that held back a riot of cardboard boxes all the way to the ceiling. Even with only recognizing a few of the brand names, Maggie knew the entire collection was liquor and the hard shit, and some of it was far better in quality than an alien dive bar would normally carry. 

Her nose led her to a dim hallway and closer to the scent of delicious food being cooked nearby. There were still a few familiar landmarks to the altered space at least, but she had no idea what to expect in the bar itself. 

The Dollywood bar had been a safe haven for The Other, the aliens and metahumans and those who had a tough time fitting in. Her job had led Maggie to the place and she'd fallen in love with it, the stark, industrial look of it, the eclectic clientele, the sense of belonging.

Now it just looked like another crime scene cleaned up, being pieced back together by those left behind.

Maggie's breath was harsh as her eyes and throat and stomach burned.

It took a moment for the presence of another person to break through Maggie's misery and she took a few steadying breaths before turning her entire body towards the bartender. With cap discarded, she looked like the new Thor with a bit less muscle mass. And she sure as hell was tall enough for the role! Well maybe Thor's punky alter ego in an alternate universe with that shortish shock of fluffy summer-sun hair, a scarred eyebrow with a barbell punched through it, and a dense right sleeve of intricate and wildly colorful tattoos. The white-shirted woman seemed completely unfazed by Maggie's presence, her crossed arms and relaxed posture the very picture of nonchalance. Except… there was something edgy about her. Something Maggie couldn't quite put her finger on, and that bugged her. 

"Get you something?" 

The word was said quietly and calmly in a smooth, second soprano range voice pitched perfectly to just carry over the low thrum of equipment running. Abruptly, Maggie realized that there was a new bar right here by the back door and she was actually on the wrong side of it. The original bar was half dismantled, power tools scattered in the debris around it. The woman from the alley gave her a long moment to take in the changes before tilting her pale head towards the lone barstool at the new bar.

"Please," Maggie answered just as quietly, embarrassed to have slipped in the back door and startled the bartender. She noted that the barstool was familiar and her asscheeks settled in comfortably to the well-remembered shape. The bar top was a long piece of beautiful yellow wood with a live edge, lacquered to a high shine like slightly warped old-fashioned glass. Some of that easygoing elegance was carried over in the half-installed dark wood panels softening the modern street punk like the barkeep's crisp white shirt in contrast to the well-done tattoos that turned her right arm to a forest of flowers and leaves from elbow to knuckles. They looked disconcertingly real, disguising the shape of the limb beneath and teasing the eye. It was fascinating and Maggie had never seen anything like it.

Stripping off her jacket, Maggie laid it on the bar as the bartender pulled out a few bottles and a half-dozen shotglasses. Two of the bottles crackled as their factory seals were broken, but the third one only whispered a quiet squeak of cork on wet glass. Each bottle filled two glasses and each was a different shade of amber like grades of maple syrup. The bartender picked up the offering from the open bottle while Maggie started from the other end. The wariness that the bottles might have been tampered with was noted and accepted with a faint smirk on pale lips.

"To endings." 

The quiet toast brought up Maggie's choking losses again, flooded her dark eyes and made it hard to breathe. Raising the little glass to whatever deities might watch over her otherworldly friends who perished here, she knocked back the booze, relishing the smooth burn of the stuff. It was smoky and spicy and probably expensive, but she didn't give a damn.

"To beginnings."

The second shot went down just as smoothly and began to melt some of the choking agony that would not thaw. For a moment Maggie hesitated over the shotglass that had come from the previously opened bottle, but threw caution to the wind. 

"To Dick."

The barkeep's voice had been merely respectful on the first two toasts, but now there was a personal note of pain. At Maggie's curious head tilt, a small smile warmed her face, but never reached the bright summer-sky eyes. 

"Not quite my height, built like a bear with eyebrows like a zoo exhibit?" For a moment Maggie was completely baffled what the other woman was talking about, but she fondly continued on with no regard for her audience's confusion. "Had a weird cowboy fetish and always joked that he moved to San Francisco so that he could become an inspector instead of a detective? He must have given you such crap."

Only then did Maggie remember the gruff ex-cop who seemed to forever be at the bar, nursing a beer here and there, always with a ratty book or crossword resting nearby. "Talk the ass end off a donkey?"

Her hoarse stab at humor deepened the bartender's smile a bit. "He's the one. Bought this place after he retired to give metahumans and anyone else that needed it a place to belong."

"Wait, he owned this place?"

"Yep. And he liked you, Detective Sawyer, described you perfectly, even having not seen the infamous dimples. Oh, don't look so worried, he wasn't a creep, he just recognized one of the good ones. He liked you for being a good cop and a good person, for acceptance when too many see only alienness or a quirk of DNA."

A cascade of memories sped through Maggie's well-trained mind, snippets of stories and anecdotes that the old man would ramble on about regardless of how interested his audience might be. "You're the punk kid he growled about. CD was it?"

And the woman tilted her head back and laughed, the sound both sacrilegious in the space and so, so welcome. A real smile warmed the stranger's face like a sunrise tinged with clouds of melancholy. Perversely, Maggie noted that the stranger had the same type of misleadingly sweet face as Alex, easy and dangerous to underestimate.

"I don't go by CD anymore, but yes, I'm the punk kid he had to teach to be a proper cop." Setting aside the still full shotglass, the barkeep offered her tattooed hand and Maggie noticed the brutal surgery scars that ran like railroad tracks up her forearm. "Dace Bogart, pleased to meet you."

"Maggie Sawyer, likewise."

For a woman clearly strong and fit, the handshake had a weakness to it that Maggie would bet had something to do with those scars. But there was still plenty of power in the grip, a match to the unsettling energy that clung to the tall blonde. When they separated, each took up their glass and Maggie needed a moment to find the words she needed to say.

"To those that left us," fell out of her mouth, quiet and heartfelt. When she raised her eyes from the glass, Dace's clear blue eyes were luminous with empathy and her own pains.

"To those that left us," she repeated with quiet reverence and they clinked the little glasses together before tossing back the shots.

The third shot was like nothing Maggie had ever tasted before, savory and rich with an edge not quite sweet. It landed on the first two drinks in her otherwise empty stomach and nearly spun her off the stool.

"Fuck me, what the hell was that?"

Dace the bartender laughed a rich, hearty laugh that warmed the tomb around them. "I'll have to ask my partner. She gets it from some small batch distiller in Europe. Good, huh?"

Maggie hummed an affirmative as she poked at the bottle, wondering if the simple, handwritten label was Cyrillic… and she'd never seen Cyrillic in her life. Still she swore she could almost comprehend the characters. What the hell was in this stuff?

"So, now that I've warmed you up," Dace teased warmly, mischief playing around her expressive mouth. "You look hungry and I'm betting it was your stomach that dragged you in here more than my unexpectedly welcome presence."

The flirty comment made Maggie huff out a small, rusty laugh and pull her eyes away from the glorious riot of color cloaking the tall woman's skin. It also made her stomach snarl loudly enough to heard back at the precinct. "You win."

In a smiling flurry of activity, Dace busied herself even as she began playfully interrogating Maggie. "Animal or vegetable?"

"I am a proud omnivore."

"Allergies?"

"Only to stupid. And pine tree resin. Don't ask me how I found that one out."

"Ouch. Raw or Texas BBQ?"

"As close to mooing as your chef will let me take a stab at."

That cracked another laugh out of the enigmatic bartender. "I'm right there with you. Willing to be surprised?"

"The way that food smells? Hell yes."

"Done," Dace finished up her fiddling and spun a little bowl of barmix with perfect aim to rest against Maggie's arm invitingly. An electric kettle gurgled and hissed on the back of the bar beside an ornate cappuccino machine, its wires and water lines hanging limp down its face. "I have no idea how this fancy-ass thing works, but Fen does and she wanted it. Who am I to argue with the lady with the checkbook?"

As though conjured up by the comment, a scuffle of sound heralded a wad of black material being thrown at the boxes of booze and the arrival of another person. She was a looker, with large, expressive eyes and high cheekbones that looked like they could cut glass accenting a full mouth and strong jaw. A riot of straight dark hair was pulled into a messy bun and her slender yet voluptuous frame was half-obscured behind impeccable chef blacks worn like a uniform. 

Outside of being attractive as hell, there was only one real thing of note about her, and Maggie certainly noted it. Her irises were yellow; a field of golden amber like the predatory gaze of a wild wolf.

And while Maggie indeed noted all of that with habitual interest, she was utterly distracted by the full plate held with negligent ease in one hand.

" _merde_ ," the chef growled in a low, smoky voice and the French cuss word fit her classy old-world good looks. "I need a drink." In the moments Maggie had been eyeing the newcomer and the luscious-looking plate of meat and veggies in her hand, the charismatic bartender already had a glass of something thick and dark ready, the bottle of Kahlua clinking into its place on the backbar with barely a glance.

"Trade ya."

The teasing tone and grabby hands brought the chef back to the plate in her hand, her expression shading faintly startled. Those striking amber-gold eyes flicked from her coworker to Maggie, who put on her best adorably hungry face. After a moment, the chef gave her grinning partner a wry eyebrow. "Are we hiring or did you merely recruit me a victim?"

There was something about her speech, not an accent, but a notable lack of any at all. Clearly her American came out of a speaker or voice lessons, and Maggie dutifully filed the small detail away.

"I'll split it with you, Sawyer," Dace offered with a grin and pulled out a small plate from behind the bar. Grumbling about ruining her presentation, the chef nonetheless produced a clean spoon from somewhere and Dace handed Maggie a bundle of flatware wrapped in a napkin and took the spoon herself. Maggie didn't drool over how the spoon carved through the slab of meat with little effort, but it was a near thing. When the plate clinked to the countertop, Maggie went after the half-meal without an instant of hesitation. Beneath a light sauce with little intriguing bits of flotsam in it was a gloriously thin layer of browned meat and the jackpot, red and juicy within. 

The first mouthful took effort not to moan around. Several more confirmed that it wasn't beef, but something more visceral, the deep ruby of the thin steak strangely beautiful. The mixed veggies, chunky and rustic and mouth-watering, were just as good. The good chef had even provided a creamy dollop of mashed potatoes with an odd rosy tinge to them that were sweet and rich and decadent. 

"I feel almost indecent watching this," the chef commented dryly and Maggie fought not to blush even as the barkeep chuckled around her own mouthful.


	9. Avalanche Rumblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a long time she just stood there and wallowed in the memories, until the prick of tears and the lump in her throat sent her off to where Dace watched with sympathetic blue eyes. A pint glass of the Summer Bear was already waiting for her and Maggie gratefully downed half while Dace didn't so much as say hello. She understood the need for silence, for a person to chose their own time and place to open up, if they ever did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're feeling a little lost, my apologies. I was using these strangers to illustrate Maggie's sense of loss and the new beginning of the bar coming back to life. The usual cast of characters will be back next chapter!

Swallowing her mouthful of the ridiculously delicious meal, Maggie piped up with, "Your reputation precedes you and I don't even know who you are."

The bartender snorted expressively at the sass and almost choked, her partner providing a casual wallop between the shoulder blades. Sharp wolf eyes stared evenly at Maggie with something like a faintly annoyed respect dancing in their depths. "It's bison. You have a terrible poker face, at least where your stomach is concerned. I have far more exotic meats at my disposal, but I hesitate to take too many liberties." She turned the playfully icy look on Dace, who looked perfectly innocent. "Unlike you."

" _Moi_?"

Whatever that exotic stream of French meant, it made Dace laugh again at the clear telling off. One didn't have to speak the language to figure that out. Dace's grasp of the language was clearly not the native fluidity of the chef's, but she seemed to get her point across. After some back and forth, their tones ranging from businesslike to affectionate sass, the chef snapped the small towel at her waist at the bartender and slipped back into English. "You're an ass, Leonacouer."

"Ooooo, if you're busting out that name, I must be in trouble."

Ignoring her, the Frenchwoman turned her attention to where Maggie was debating if she should slow down to make the exquisite meal last longer.

"I am Michael LaMagne, formerly of Spades."

For the first time, Maggie felt out of place, outclassed and intimidated by a curt introduction that clearly indicated the name and place should mean something to her.

"Jesus, Fenris, put a cork in it, willya? We're all friends here. Sit the hell down for a minute and finish your drink."

Dace's snappy patter eased the strange awkwardness and steadied Maggie's startled nerves. That winning grin didn't hurt either.

"Michael hated all the snooty attention Spades was getting as the years passed and it's made her a bristly pain the ass. It's this fancy place in Gotham that turned trendy," Dace explained and Michael snorted out a rude noise. "So she followed the fine old tradition of coming west to start over again when I extended the invite. Frankly, she was the best goddamn chef on the eastern seaboard as you've gotten a taste of."

As Michael grabbed another stool to settle beside Maggie, her expression turned momentarily sharp with curiosity and Maggie decided she was going to believe that the chef was just intense, not a snotty bitch. Time to test the waters again, as it were.

"Myriad wouldn't have kept me away once I got a lungful."

It was a assessment to see how much the former cop knew about her new home and the hoot of Dace's laughter pleased Maggie. Michael seemed faintly confused and annoyed, but mollified by the compliment. That Maggie was still eating with enthusiasm didn't hurt either. The two tall women talked about Myriad quietly while Maggie finished eating, only coming out of her food haze when Michael stood and Dace set out a glass of water for her guest.

"Since that snack is hardly going to pacify your beast of an appetite, I'll see what I can whip up. Do you have that wheaty-citrusy ale you love on tap yet?"

Dace smiled slowly. "The Summer Bear?"

"Yes, that one."

"Actually, yes. A lioness has gotta stay hydrated. It's on one."

"Seeing as it's one of your favorites, that seems about right," Michael teased as she elbowed her way past her partner to half fill a pitcher pulled from under the bar. 

"How many you planning on feeding, Fen?"

Maggie wondered over the unusual nicknames, filed them away as she did all the random details of the world around her. 

Michael flashed Dace a haughty look that never reached her warmly affectionate gaze and headed back the way she'd come. "The rest is for me."

Laughing, Dace shook her head and pulled out a pair of beer glasses to fill them from the same tap, setting one in front of Maggie. "That should chase that meal nicely."

Curious about the 'Summer Bear', Maggie finished half of her water before reaching for the ale. It was light and crisp with a spicy edge that gentled an already light dosage of hops. "Oh, that's really good."

Smiling faintly, Dace nodded acknowledgement with a surety bordering on arrogance and sipped at her own glass.

"I figured I'd see about bumping this place up from dive bar without jacking the prices up. Think that'll sell? You know the locals better than I do."

It was another reminder of the deaths and Maggie set the glass down to twist it idly on the glossy countertop. "Well, I'm a confirmed bottle feeder, but you might convert me with this."

"Bottle feeder," Dace chuckled quietly. "Very clever. It goes well with fried food too, so bonus there."

Just imagining the spicy ale with hot wings or better, fried pickles, set Maggie's stomach to whining, despite the bison steak she'd already eaten.

In short order. the prickly chef stalked back in with a couple of bundles of newsprint, faint grease marks beginning to bleed through, and set them on the counter. The paper unfurled flat to reveal golden battered shrimp and fish atop a glistening bed of shoestring fries and, yes, little disks of fried green goodness that turned out to be pickled zucchini battered and deep fried. Alone or with the trio of sauces that came with it, the mess was the best damn thing Maggie had ever sunk her teeth into and she moaned in appreciation.

Oh yes, she was going to like what this place could become.

\----

Stuffed to the gills with amazing food and happily drunk, Maggie accepted Dace's offer to leave her bike in the storeroom and cabbed it home. It was the first night since the attack on the bar where she slept decently and she returned there in better spirits the next evening. The door was locked and firmly closed, but savory smells were leaking out into the cool winter air, so Maggie went exploring. Sure enough, she found a second door and her banging brought Michael to her after a long delay.

"Ah, my victim is back. I see you haven't had enough. Step into my den of sin then."

"What can I say, I've never known when to step back with women."

The amber-eyed chef looked askance at her for a moment before chuckling and Maggie clearly felt the warming of the prickly exterior. Past a jumble of pallets and things wrapped for shipping, lay a kitchen that explained much of Michael's irritation. Oh, the kitchen itself was perfection with plenty of gleaming stainless steel and open workspaces, but the dusty old warehouse around it… Well, it was a slightly less dusty old warehouse.

"Sit, sit," Michael ordered imperiously and Maggie was happy to comply with the bossiness in order to get fed. "Dace is running some errands and might possibly have run back to San Francisco with the amount of time she's wasted. Honestly, that lioness…"

That reawakened Maggie's inherently curious nature as she settled to a seat at a wooden table close to the kitchen space. "I like the nicknames. They're interesting and unique."

That earned an odd look Maggie couldn't quite decipher, but there was definitely wariness involved. "A remnant… from another life." Shaking off her guardedness, Michael returned to her interrupted cooking, her tone once more businesslike. "Certainly, they were started by our looks, but came to represent ourselves as well. Though we're hardly as social as our monikers."

More details to save up and Maggie nodded. "Just particular who you get close to, huh? I can understand that."

A clatter of sound from next door accompanied Dace's voice calling out. "Ah, your victim is back I smell! And are you taking a crack at those swordfish steaks again? You hate them!"

The smell comment had not been a mistake, Maggie was dead sure about that. Michael's returned wariness only reinforced her instincts. 

"No, I'm not Human," the tall woman blurted out and looked annoyed with herself.

Shrugging with careful carelessness, Maggie avoided either nodding or shaking her head. "Wasn't asking, but I appreciate the trust."

Dace hustled in then, sweaty and underdressed for the weather, bicycle helmet still perched on her head. "I took the scenic route home to start getting to know the neighborhood better. We gotta get this place open, ASAP. There's too many displaced around here. Am Human, well, Metahuman anyway. And, yes, we both memorized your individual scent."

"Well that explains why Dick opened this place," Maggie shrugged and gave them both a flat look. "I hope you weren't expecting histrionics or something. Not my style. Oh, and welcome to National City, home of the weird. You'll fit in nicely."

And that was that.

\----

Two weeks and three days after Hank Henshaw killed three of their own and sent the bar-rats scattering to the night, the bar reopened. 

Oh, it was still only half-finished, and Dace had absolutely bribed the city inspector with some of Michael's cooking to get her licenses, but they were legal and raring to go. Above the new bar was a large blaze of black spray paint in lieu of something fancier. It was a simple '3' with triple flares of color arching away from it like falling sparks. A tribute to the victims of the attack.

The jukebox was playing, the country tunes strangely welcome after being absent. No, it wasn't Dolly, but Maggie was perfectly fine with Reba McEntire, even if it was that depressing and weirdly upbeat 'Fancy' song. There were a handful of locals haunting the place, the neon was lit and… and the pool table was uncovered.

It was a jolt she had not expected.

So many nights had been spent around that table, getting to know Alex. They'd talked so endlessly, so easily, easing away one another's inherent wariness until that closet door had fallen off its hinges and things had gone so wrong.

For a long time she just stood there and wallowed in the memories, until the prick of tears and the lump in her throat sent her off to where Dace watched with sympathetic blue eyes. A pint glass of the Summer Bear was already waiting for her and Maggie gratefully downed half while Dace didn't so much as say hello. She understood the need for silence, for a person to chose their own time and place to open up, if they ever did.

When she set out a shot from her fancy private bottle and its possibly Cyrillic writing, Maggie didn't hesitate to down it.

Just as she had that first night they met, Dace simply leaned against the backbar and waited in silence. It was a useful habit for both a bartender and a cop and one she was masterful at. Even Maggie, a hardened cop with years of the blue line under her belt, was not immune to the technique. After playing with the shot glass and the rings of condensation on the bar top for long moments, she finally mustered up the gumption to talk hoarsely around the ache in her throat.

"So, a few months ago, I made a choice. Right here in this bar. It seemed spontaneous, but I think I'm trying to fool myself, because part of me knew it was coming. Made a choice and turned away what might have been the best thing to ever happen to me. And now…" Maggie's breath caught on a sob and she curled into herself as though struck. "Now it's too late. She found someone else."

Dace merely listened quietly, her body language open and unthreatening. Before Maggie could regret her pained outburst, Dace spoke up in her gentlest voice. "What's her name?"

Choking on a humorless laugh, Maggie clenched her hands around the heavy beer glass, half expecting it to splinter. "Alex."

"Then--"

Whatever Dace was going to say was lost in a ruckus of noise as a disheveled figure burst into the bar with wild eyes. The blonde went defensive, but Maggie instantly knew him. Her old informant looked around desperately and zeroed in on her with desperate relief. "Oh thank Zankar's Suns, Sawyer, you're here."

"Tobin, what the hell is wrong?"

He looked like hell and Tobin had always leaned towards the scruffy side, so that was saying something. Stumbling over, he gratefully grabbed the half-full glass of beer and chugged it like he was dying of thirst. "That group that gassed this place," he gasped as though he was ready to drop dead right there. "They've set up shop out in Palmdale. A bunch of us go out there in winter and most of them are already gone, rounded up. I managed to get out and hitched a ride down here." 

Maggie already had her phone out, tripping down her list of contacts quickly. She paused at Danvers, but shook her head and decided to go right to the top. Even a she hit the dial icon, Tobin added one last thing.

"And that crazy man with the laser eye was there."

The scar near Maggie's right clavicle suddenly burned and twitched in memory and Maggie knew that things were going to avalanche fast now. A familiar guff voice answered the phone and she didn't even give him a chance to finish his short spiel before talking rapidly. "Director J'onzz, we have a situation."


	10. Back To Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The open gesture of acceptance and protection left Lena breathless, heart beating wildly. It was one thing to hold her hand and be the adoring girlfriend twenty-six hundred miles from home, and quite another to do so in the halls of her very secretive and insular work. Choked up, Lena just leaned her head on Alex's shoulder and focused on breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We return now to our Hawaii crew! I had no desire to skip over much of the Hawaii trip, but the Muses wanted to move on. Alas. I have hopes for some short stories once the larger tale is done.

Friday passed with horsing around on the beach and much conversation and laughter, firmly cementing the group as fast friends. That night Kara knew she needed to leave the idyll behind and return to the city she protected and the mundane life she led. So she spent a quiet night with her little family and slept once more beside her sister's heartbeat.

Saturday morning came with Kara telling the newly engaged couple goodbye before hugging the stuffing out of them and driving away with Alex and Lena. Instead of the airport, they wandered deep into the jungle along rambling roads to send Kara off in fine Supergirl style. With hugs and a few tears and loving words, the first separation was a blur of blue and red.

The two couples whiled away the weekend in roving all over the island to see famous and obscure sights, and had a grand time doing it. Still, Monday morning came too soon. The second goodbye was as difficult as the first, taking Susan and Kyra to the airport and sending them off with hugs, goodbyes and a few tears.

Then it was just Alex and Lena so very far from home.

After an uncomfortable night at the farm, the couple agreed that staying there just felt too lonely and impulsively decided to take their act on the road. It didn't really help that both of them were starting to feel the enforced isolation like a prison sentence, no matter how beautiful the cage. So they talked themselves out, tried to stay active to quiet their minds and spent a great many hours lost in the pleasures of one another's bodies.

Still, both were strong-willed, driven personalities and a throw down was inevitable. It happened on the heels of calling Susan and Kyra to congratulate them on their anniversary. Neither could even remember what set them off, but it was a snarling war of words that had Alex storming out to a rocky bluff near the little rental house they were staying at.

Too long passed and the night was setting in, but neither unbent, too hurt from being abandoned before. But when Lena stepped out into the cold, that was more than enough to crack Alex into scuttling down from her perch. Maybe the break wasn't precisely the crack in the bone that healed stronger, but they were glad to have gotten it out of their systems at least.

They survived on what words they could find to share, and phone calls back home and time apart as much as possible without putting anyone in potential danger and coming together with the intensity of souls who had fallen hard and fast.

When at last J'onn called them home, it was with a desperate relief that they fled the beautiful lands of Hawaii, hand in hand.

\----

The takeoff was peaceful enough, with Lena once more clinging to Alex's arm. Though this time that hand lay quietly curled around her thigh and the link of their gazes was more than enough for calm. Greg was happy to bring out snacks and drinks and a pack of cards, even joining the pair in a couple rounds of poker. 

The endless line of the mainland where it met the sea was blissfully welcome as they flew over National City and circled around to come in for a landing. Alex figured she should have half expected it, the streak of movement just outside the large, oval viewport that became her sister, carefully pacing the plane. Lena actually made a startled squeak and breathed Kara's name, snapping her teeth shut on the syllables and shooting Greg a sharp look. Thankfully, he was up in his own seat towards the cockpit, but his startled voice carried back to the passenger cabin.

"Holy cra--! Su… Supergirl?" 

Kara waved at them, cape and her blonde locks snapping in the wind, before peeling off.

"Well that's quite the welcome home," Alex said dryly and just rubbed her eyes wearily.

"I guess there's news that just couldn't wait, Agent Tiger."

"Smartass."

Pleased with the banter, Lena gave Kara a quick wave and buried her face back in Alex's shoulder to await the fearful finale of their trip back down to earth. And what a landing it was, some invisible shove of wind sending the jet listing to the right hard enough to get every heart racing, including Kara's, the engines screaming to compensate. Thankfully, the pilots managed to get the wheels down with a rattling series of bumps and a small skitter sideways.

"Glad I wasn't fondling you this time," Alex said with fear and relief fading from her tone and Lena only made a small noise and pried her fingernails out of her lover's arm.

The drama was over at that point and the plane taxied its way back to the hanger where they began their journey. With a blast of cool, dry air, the women happily tumbled out of the plane where the awed staff was staring at Supergirl, waiting with little patience at the bottom of the ramp. And as much as Alex wanted to preserve the illusion of this being some sort of businesslike meeting, she couldn't deny the stress in Kara's eyes. 

Doubtlessly the staff boggled at the resident alien superhero engulfing their clients in a group hug that was eagerly returned. When Kara spoke, her voice echoed her stress. "It's been a busy couple of days and I came to retrieve you personally. However, you might want to sit for this."

Right on cue, the ubiquitous black SUV pulled up and astonishingly, it was Maggie that stepped out.

"We can debrief in the car," Kara said in her best superhero voice and that was cue enough for Greg to haul over the luggage and open the back of the car to load it up. Lena hung back to speak with the pilots for a moment while Alex eyed her 'what if'. 

Once Lena had thanked the crew, she fell in with her sister heroes, pressing Alex to take the backseat with Kara. "I'll be fine up front with Detective Sawyer."

Silent and with her expression set into stoic lines, Maggie nodded curtly where she had taken her place behind the wheel. The moment the final door thumped shut, the big car pulled away Kara softened, but not by much. While it was very clear there was something on her mind, it would have to wait for privacy.

The quiet lengthened out, quickly spiraling towards uncomfortable.

"How is that burn?"

Maggie seemed taken aback by Lena's quiet inquiry. "It's fine. Uh, thanks for asking. Just another scar for the collection. How did you know about that?"

Amazingly, the question was more curious than accusing and Lena smiled wanly. "I hadn't run nearly as far as I should have after being attacked. A fact for which Supergirl here was unhappy about when I admitted it later."

Kara made an amused scoff that reduced the tension in the car even further.

"But then, I was never good at running away."

Maggie had no idea why she felt empathy to this woman she literally had no reason to tolerate, much less like, but there it was. 

"Yeah, I know how that can be," Maggie said with an edge of warmth that she covered with a clearing of her throat. "So, I got a lead on Cadmus last night. I'm sure Tobin would have sent his regards for the choking you gave him with that barstool had he not been otherwise traumatized."

The tension in the car skyrocketed again, mixed with curiosity.

"What? You think I found Red Hot by offering milk and cookies?" Alex sassed and Kara gave her a dirty look. "I was in a hurry. To save your bacon in fact."

Maggie made a rude noise and waved the comment off. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in, Danvers. I suppose I should be grateful to not have burns from that one too."

With everyone relaxed again, Maggie talked out what little she'd gleaned from her scruffy contact and the satellite imagery the DEO had immediately taken of the location.

"Abandoned warehouses are so trite," Alex sighed dramatically and Maggie just chuckled at her. "I feel like I'm stuck in someone's fan fiction."

"Yeah, well evil shadow organizations don't exactly scream 'coffee house AU' do they?"

Kara was used to the banter and paid little attention, but Lena was fascinated. For the few glimpses she'd gotten of Agent Danvers, it had never been in context to someone Alex saw as an equal the way she clearly regarded Maggie. There was a push and pull between them that was both professional and hinted at the subtext that had cooled, but certainly not gone away.

It would almost be flirtatious if it weren't mostly business.

Unsurprisingly, Maggie drove them straight to the DEO building downtown where they piled out of the car.

"Give us a sec," Alex instructed quietly. "We'll be right behind you."

Both Kara and Maggie hesitated, but they retreated reluctantly, the latter tossing over the SUV's keys. As Lena had been hoping for, she was wrapped up in a tight hug, Alex's mouth pressed to her ear.

"Together?" Lena whispered entreatingly, once more on shaky footing and feeling as though this woman was the only thing stable around her. Alex squeezed hard, almost painfully so, and the pressure was grounding.

"Together."

Grabbing their carryons, the couple headed into the building, and Lena startled when Alex took her hand, warmly intertwining their fingers. Her expression earned a quick, loving grin. "After Winn's mocking us early in the trip, there's no way the entire DEO doesn't know about us. Probably on several continents by now."

The open gesture of acceptance and protection left Lena breathless, heart beating wildly. It was one thing to hold her hand and be the adoring girlfriend twenty-six hundred miles from home, and quite another to do so in the halls of her very secretive and insular work. Choked up, Lena just leaned her head on Alex's shoulder and focused on breathing.

When the elevator slowed, Lena naturally tried to let go, to let Agent Danvers stride into the DEO, not her sweet Tiger. Alex would have none of it and half dragged her from the lift and down the stairs leading to the sprawling central area. They only made it halfway down the main flight before Winn rocketed at them with a puppyish enthusiasm that made Kara grin. The running tackle-hug rocked Alex back and nearly sent her sprawling. If not for Lena grabbing at both of them, it could have gotten messy. 

"Alex! I've missed you!"

Winn was ecstatic his pal was home, and happy to be slightly shorter due to the steps so that he could really squeeze her.

"Jeez, Winn, I'm glad to see you too."

Still bouncy as a puppy, Winn pulled away a bit and nearly sent himself falling down the steps. "Sorry, sorry! I've missed you is all."

With a distinctly baffled air, Alex patted Winn's head and he looked as happy as a dog with a cookie. Awkward for a moment, Winn shrugged and also gave Lena a quick hug that she willingly returned. That gave Alex a chance to step away and quickly embrace J'onn.

"Welcome home Alex, Lena. Good to see you both well. Feeling up to getting involved?"

Lena nodded tentatively as she and Winn joined the others, pressing up against either side of Alex. "Yeah, let me change and sort my bag out. Lena?"

"Find me when you get settled in," Winn grinned at Lena and returned to his station, clearly enormously pleased to have more of his friends back.

"Looking forward to gettin' your nerd on?" Alex teased as she led Lena away with a hand on her back.

"Not as much as you are to get back into your badass blacks."

"You like it."

"Now, come on. You have to give me more than a few glimpses for it to become fetishistic."

Their banter was a quiet exchange, but their friends heard it all. Not just the words, but the warmth contained within, echoed in Alex's gentle touch and the way Lena leaned lightly into her as they walked away.

Once Alex had visited stores for a uniform and her locker for sundries and tac belt, she felt much more at ease and headed back to her little office where she'd left Lena to settle in. The time to head home would come soon, but until then, it was safer inside the DEO. 

Thankfully, Kara had joined her friend in Alex's office and her voice cut out the moment the door rattled in its frame. Alex took one look at that sad face and closed the door before opening her arms for a hug.

"Mrs. Needleberg died a couple days ago," Kara sobbed and Alex made a pained noise.

"Oh no, really? Damn…"

While totally lost, Lena held her questions in and just watched the sisters. After a moment, Alex's eyes raised up to acknowledge their quiet companion.

"The superintendant of Kara's building. Nice old lady who had lived there for so long she joked that she couldn't even remember. She tolerated my college shenanigans," a pause for a quirk of sad smile when Lena look confused. "The loft used to be mine."

"You gave up that cool loft?"

The gentle tease made both sisters relax a bit and Alex continued with a little head bonk to Kara. "This one made a better neighbor and my place is closer to work. Mrs. Needleberg gave Kara a huge break on the rent for taking over the physical superintendant duties in the building."

Enlightened, Lena nodded as Kara sighed into Alex's neck. "She was more than my neighbor, she was my friend. And she made the best rose tea and told me stories about Czechoslovakia and Utah."

"As soon as we get through this we'll do cuddles and ice cream and a small funeral. Sound good?"

Kara nodded slowly, looking for all the world like a lost child, not a superhero in her primary colors. The she took a deep breath and straightened up.

"Sounds good. There's more though. A couple of lawyers showed up at my door today."

"Lawyers?" Alex was baffled and Kara's smile was both warm and sad.

"They left me a briefcase, a loooooong explanation-- most of which I think I got-- and an urn. She'd taken care of all her own arrangements, but would like us to spread some of her ashes in a few places."

Alex hugged her again, feeling choked up herself with the memory of her once-neighbor. "We will absolutely do that."

"There's more."

"More?"

"Did you know she actually owned the whole building?"

Clearly Alex did not and her expression was faintly astonished. As before, Kara smiled wanly. "And she willed the building to us."

"… Well damn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the whole Mrs. Needleberg thing came from an interview with Executive producer Ali Adler some time back. I never argue with inspiration, no matter how obscure or bizarre. Besides, this gives me the means of getting everyone into a central location.  
> The article: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/supergirl-how-kara-affords-her-848172


	11. The Countdown Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By the time they reached the elevators, all three of them were feeling the long day, Alex squashed by the two engineers leaning on her. After a quick run through the locker rooms to get ready for bed, Alex made sure a sleepy Winn was toddling off towards the bunkrooms with blanket and pillow tucked under his arm before herding Lena off to her little office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here comes more plot! Forgive my absolute lack of engineering know-how, I faked it as best I could. :)

Knowing that continuing to stay away from L-Corp and actually doing so were two different things, but Lena persevered. Though she might not have if Winn hadn't cheerfully dragged her off to his lab to tinker. Just as they had done as strangers what felt like a lifetime ago, the two of them got to talking excitedly, filing away ideas for a later date.

If it ever came.

"He terrifies me, you know," Lena said into the easy quiet that had fallen over them. Where he was hunched over a doohickey, Winn looked up with concerned eyes.

"Henshaw? Well, you're smart about that. We don't know enough about him to really feel like there's a good shot at taking him down. And what sort of crazy implants did they plug into that loon to make him so strong and fast, not to mention that laser, I mean come on…"

But Lena had stopped listening and he trailed off at the suddenly slack in her features.

"Lena?"

For a moment, she was lost in her own head before snapping back to pin him with a blazingly intense look. "You hacked me looking for information about the Medusa Virus."

Winn visibly blanched, suddenly worried for his safety and she waved his reaction off.

"Relax, that wasn't a threat. I found your trail in my company systems and sent a wall of trace and destroy at you."

"That was you??? That was brutal!"

"It was supposed to be. Nothing personal. That wasn't my point though. There was another hack in that same timeframe. That's how I found out about isotope 454 being the target."

She was talking fast now, as much to herself as to Winn, whose attention was firmly affixed on her.

"I traced the hack back to the source and found out it was Cadmus. Well, I found enough interrelated evidence to make a damn good guess anyway. I wasn't in there for long, but no hacker can resist a little peek around, right?" For a moment Lena stared at Winn with wide green eyes until he belatedly nodded in encouragement.

"Go on."

"I don't even remember what I saw, or if I grabbed anything useful, but it got me thinking. There's some pretty sophisticated sensors in the L-Corp building. What if they picked up anything useful on Henshaw?"

Winn lit up with enthusiasm, leaping to his feet. "Yes! And you might have even stumbled over something useful in the hack! Can you get access to the information?"

"I think so. Shit, I have to call Jess…"

The DEO did one better, Winn racing out and nearly face-planting into Susan, who he babbled at like a madman until she followed him back to the lab. Hearing Lena rambling into her phone, Susan startled both of the excited engineers by grabbing said phone. A flat look chastised both of her excitable companions.

"Miss Castin? This is Agent Vasquez, we met briefly at the FBI building downtown during the plans for your boss' sabbatical. Yes, that one. Look, I'm going to come to you to minimize any potential dangers to you." A chuckle warmed Susan's voice. "Part of the job, I assure you. Excellent, I should be there shortly. Here's Lena back." Pausing, she gave Lena a serious look. "Keep the information you're passing on at a minimum. There's no guarantee any of this is secure, no matter how good your tech must be."

Partially sobered by the reminder of danger, Lena walked her assistant through coaxing the information out of complicated systems.

"When all of this is over, I'm giving you as long a vacation as you want to wherever you want," Lena gushed and heard Jess stifle down a noise of delighted amusement. "And a hell of a raise. You have more than gone beyond the call of duty and I have no idea how to thank you for everything."

"I knew working for you would be interesting, Miss Luthor, but a vacation sounds great. Things have been pretty chaotic here, but I think you can still fix it. Ironically, the holiday season is working in your favor as a distraction to anyone taking advantage of your absence."

"Small favors, but I'll certainly take it."

\---- 

With no fuss, Susan left behind a couple of rookies at L-Corp to bodyguard Jess for a few days and returned with a handful of thumb drives. Handing them over with a mutter about 'arrogant comic-book villains', she gave Lena's arm a squeeze and wished them both luck.

They would need it.

While there were a few tantalizing tidbits from Lena's hack back into Cadmus' systems, the best information was from the lobby sensors in the L-Corp building. Better with the computer side of it, Winn hunched over rivers of numbers to tease out what information he could about Henshaw, as blurred as it was against the rising swell of the dimensional portal's energies.

While he rambled on about that, Lena took advantage of her in with Susan and requisitioned several crates of materials from the DEOs collection of oddball stuff over decades of ops. There would probably be hell to pay later for doing so with nothing more than a NDA keeping their secrets, but right now, stopping Henshaw was more important than the fear her last name still carried.

Lena for her part was exhilarated. Her good red silk shirt had long since been discarded on a workbench and her best wool slacks and satin camisole were ruined. The stink of grease and soldering iron was intense in her nostrils and her hands were sore from wrestling parts all day.

It was bliss.

For too long, Lena had been her slick corporate personality, the role very nearly subverting her true colors. The family company had been her only goal, her only legacy, and she had been fully accepting of that.

Until Kara had befriended her. Then Alex with her sweet, warm curiosity had seduced her. Until Susan and Kyra had made friends with her and she had made J'onn J'onzz laugh.

Now she had something personal to protect. 

In her mind she could still see Henshaw tossing Supergirl around, pinning her down effortlessly, bullets completely ineffectual. Worse, that flare of laser that had snapped Maggie back, left her bleeding on the floor. Soft targets would be little more than marshmallows for Henshaw to tear to pieces.

So what could Lena and Winn do? Well, they might not be badass special agents with heavy artillery and fighting skills like special forces, but they could provide an edge no training could.

They could build a gun.

The ideas came in waves of science and engineering and pure, ornery sarcasm. Lena wallowed in Winn's outraged, delighted laughter as they tried to outdo one another with gallows humor. She almost got him with threatening to make badges for their 'not serial killers like our family members' club. But he fired back that it was a lame club name and started coming up with better ones, finally settling on, 'Sans-Serial Spawn'. 

Lena laughed until she had the hiccups, telling him that it sounded like a cheesy font.

Needless to say, the handful of techs that drifted through to try and help never stayed for long.

\----

When Alex finally noted the time, she cursed blackly at losing track and immediately closed down her computer and headed out to get a little sleep. Concerned for her girl, she went looking first in her office where a sleepy Kara rolled over to blink awake.

"Alex?"

"Hey sis. That's a much better cot than I'm used to. Your doing?"

It was indeed a better cot than the narrow canvas-sling WW2-style things scattered all over the building. This one was as wide as a full bed and had an actual air mattress and sheets and even nice warm blankets.

"Yeah, sorry, I just laid down to test it out and dozed off."

"Hey, get it while you can. Have you seen Lena?"

The drowsy snort of disgust was not the reaction Alex had been expecting. "Ugh, you best prepare yourself. She's with Winn down in that lab of his getting all mad scientist over some contraption that looks like something from Holtzmann's lab in Ghostbusters. The only thing I got out of the whole delirious ramble was POS is in the thing's name. And it suits it."

That made Alex laugh and give her shoulder a squeeze. "I'll go get her for a few hours of sleep. We'll need something sturdier if you're staying, though."

Sitting up to stretch, Kara shook her head before standing. "No, I'm good. I'll go see the dawn and let you two get some sleep. Besides, I want to visit M'gann."

That stopped Alex in her tracks. "Wait, M'gann is still here?"

Kara's unhappy face was answer enough. Filing that away to be dealt with in addition to the billion other things on her mental lists, Alex walked with her sister and watched her make use of one of the many balconies to launch into the slowly bluing sky. 

After a couple of work-related delays, Alex stood at the door to Winn's lab and marveled at the chaos within. It looked like the weirdest bits of several of Doc Brown's DeLoreans had been blown to pieces and were in the process of being condensed down into something new. Winn was muttering like a madman where he was squinting over a motherboard while Lena pried at a doohicky with some… tool, that looked like it came right out of a Doctor Seuss book. She was a disheveled mess, that glorious mane of dark hair sloppily pulled into a bun and held in place with no less than three pencils and something that gleamed stainless steel.

Frankly, Alex wanted to sweep that big table clear of the mess and throw Lena across it to screw her silly.

"Hey," she said gently and they both startled and lit up with delight. An imperiously raised hand stopped the outflow of nerdery headed her way. "No shop talk, it's too early, or late, depending on how you look at it."

Stepping around the mess that cascaded across the already limited floor space and onto the workbenches along the walls, Alex watched Lena's gemstone eyes clear from her builder's haze, her smile warming.

"It's almost dawn, nerds, and I'm ordering both of you off to bed while it's still early enough in this op to get some. No excuses. You, I can throw over my shoulder," she mock-threatened Lena before shaking an index finger at Winn. "And you, I can sic Supergirl on. And I will too."

Her best cross-armed 'don't fuck with me' pose reinforced the words and the pair only hesitated for a moment before eyeballing their project and clearly shifting their intent to shut it down. At least Alex thought they were shutting down, it was hard to tell, but that crazed gleam was reappearing. Sighing, she moved closer.

"It's like college all over again. Hey, babe."

Still clearly torn, Lena nonetheless leaned into the gentle hand Alex wrapped around the back of her neck. With her free hand, she poked Winn in the cheekbone, pushing his head away while she ducked in to kiss her girl, sweet and filthy.

"Come keep me warm for a bit," she coaxed, encouraged by Lena's soft note of surrender. Winn made an annoyed, amused noise and batted at her hand, squawking when she merely grabbed his collar. Leaving off the persuasive kisses, Alex turned her attention to her sort of little brother. "Six hours, Winn. I'll lock this lab down if I have to. Your brains and bodies need rest." With the two of them scruffed like cats, Alex dragged them out. "You probably haven't eaten either, but sleep first. Come on, I know where you're at, but you still need sleep. Science has to wait."

Really, her hardass reputation was utterly ruined.

By the time they reached the elevators, all three of them were feeling the long day, Alex squashed by the two engineers leaning on her. After a quick run through the locker rooms to get ready for bed, Alex made sure a sleepy Winn was toddling off towards the bunkrooms with blanket and pillow tucked under his arm before herding Lena off to her little office.

Someone had brought up their bags-- Kara no doubt-- and they further crowded the room.

"Oh, a bed," Lena exclaimed in delight, dropping her pants and climbing onto the air mattress to giggle as she snuggled in. "It feels funny and it squeaks!"

Quickly stripping down to throw on a tank and soft pants dug out of their luggage, Alex grabbed a second light top and sat on the edge of the air mattress, absorbing the way Lena giggled like a little kid from being bounced. "You're adorable, you know that, right?"

Green eyes were hazy and soft with mirth, drawing Alex down for sweet kisses. With a solid expertise learned from loving this woman and her curvaceous body, she slipped a hand up Lena's back and unhooked her bra to soothe her hand over the long lines of muscle and bone.

"Oh, you're smooth, Agent Tiger. Right here at work?"

"If you weren't delirious, babe, I'd be all over you. Watching you get your nerd on was hot."

The teasing made Lena giggle more and she ran caressing hands over Alex's strong arms and neck to tangle in her hair. "Oh yeah?"

"Hell yes," Alex enthused, not resisting being tugged down, murmuring against Lena's gorgeous mouth. "Intelligence is sexy, smart girl."

"I agree, smart girl."

Alex really did want to pursue the sleepy intent in their kisses, that bright spark of lust and connection that had been so easy for them, but they were exhausted. So she sat up regretfully, nearly chasing that pout, but instead tugging her lover into sitting up.

"Sit up, you, and put this on. You'll be more comfortable."

Standing up, Alex set out another pair of pajama pants before turning off the bright florescent overhead lights and waiting a moment for her eyes to adjust to only the gleam of her clock in the dimness. Then she slipped under the covers held open by her partner, relaxing into Lena's warmth as much as the soft bed. Their bodies fell together with an ease of the familiarity they had fallen into so very easily. 

"Thank you for coming to get me," Lena murmured against Alex's throat, soaking up the kiss pressed to her scalp.

"Welcome. Wouldn't have been able to sleep without you."

The words lingered as they both slipped away to slumber.


	12. Ground Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waking up in the infirmary with a blazing headache and hurting all over was not one of Lena's more graceful moments. Too reminiscent of college when schoolwork, drinking and shenanigans ruled her life. Though, the heavy weight of Alex's head on her belly where she'd fallen asleep beside the diagnostic bed was a vast improvement to her past.

That six hours of sleep would be the last good rest any of them got. Then it was back to mission preparation, to intelligence gathering, to the Frankenstein machine in Winn's lab.

At first, the thing was an incomprehensible mess of tech and wishful thinking. But little by little, it started to distil down to an actual tool. 

Winn had given up on making Disney references early on, realizing that Lena was generally clueless about them. A fact that would doubtlessly horrify Kara once all this was over and he could tattle. Which was a shame, really, because there was some damn good material there. Thankfully, she was a big fan of Real Genius, any of the Back To the Future movies and had a good enough grasp on Weird Science that she laughed and laughed and laughed when Winn leaned a Barbie doll against her coffee mug.

But they both agreed that Ghostbusters had the best aesthetic for what they were after and that's what the EMPOS began to resemble. Someone even left them a stack of stickers of the iconic ghost in its slashed red circle to slap on the prototypes as they improved them.

Testing the thing was as difficult as fabricating it, due to the nature of what it did. Setting off a electromagnetic pulse coupled with a small lightning bolt-- a dual attack on technology and biology-- was no small matter.

The first test happened after two days of crazed work and no sleep past a few catnaps in the corners of the lab. Neither Lena nor Winn would ever be entirely certain who accidentally triggered the thing, but there was a sudden throb in the air and everything went black.

Waking up in the infirmary with a blazing headache and hurting all over was not one of Lena's more graceful moments. Too reminiscent of college when schoolwork, drinking and shenanigans ruled her life. Though, the heavy weight of Alex's head on her belly where she'd fallen asleep beside the diagnostic bed was a vast improvement to her past. 

That was so true to every aspect of her life.

It was almost impossible to believe that it was only six-ish weeks ago that they had impulsively run off to Santa Barbara and not even two months since the experimental rooftop kisses. Lena never could have known how this woman would change her life. Before romance, before friendship, before trust, had been the day she announced to the world that she was not like the other Luthors. The day when the hired gun had tried to kill her, more than once, and been stopped first by one sister, and then the other.

Lena could have never knows how they would change her life, how they would reinforce her convictions and her fragile heart.

As though sensing her wakefulness, Alex stirred slightly, her nose wrinkling adorably as she drew in a deep breath and sighed. Wanting a few more moments of watching her beautiful face relaxed in sleep, Lena went carefully limp. Breathing out slowly, Alex stilled, eyes still closed and features relaxed. She'd hooked her right arm over Lena's thigh, forearm along her groin and hand splayed over her belly, while the left was intertwined with Lena's right, tucked up near her heart. The sweet intimacy was almost suffocating; a live, weighty thing like the heaviness of Alex's head on her abdomen.

But it was grounding too.

The intimacy was a weight that kept her feet on the ground, kept the flood of her past from sweeping her under. Sniffling with gratitude for the gift of this singular woman, Lena brought up her left hand to gently brush back half-curly red strands from Alex's sweet face. She was hardly surprised when a slow smile bloomed and those beloved eyes fluttered open.

"You weren't supposed to test it on yourself, y'know."

Alex's voice was husky and soft, not disturbing their quiet intimacy.

"Well, I couldn't exactly ask for a volunteer," Lena sassed back just as softly and stroked Alex's hair before suddenly stilling. "Oh god, is Winn okay?"

While there had been no increase in volume, the terror for her pal carried very clearly and Alex sat up to scoot her stool over, wincing at the pins and needles in her arm. As terrified as she'd been when the news reached her, she'd had time to process the shock. Lena hadn't.

"He's fine, you're fine, everything's fine. You just crashed your hard drive, so to speak. Thankfully, the pulse didn't do more than very temporarily disrupt your involuntary functions and give you some brief, violent muscle contractions. You weren't fully in ventricular fibrillation and the medicos were on it within minutes and got you restarted before I even knew something happened. Your neurological activity was pretty much normal by the time they got you here. Still they ran an EKG and a CT scan, the whole works, baby. I will forever be grateful you both have strong brains and hearts and came seemingly unscathed."

The described symptoms fit with what the two engineers had been aiming for, but becoming a test subject had not been on Lena's to do list and it made her sulky. "So we've created an enormous, shiny taser. Fantastic."

"Not precisely, but close enough," Alex soothed and tapped the controls that had the bed slowly reconfiguring so that Lena would be in a relaxed sitting position to help her fully wake up. "And you proved it works, because in addition to the tasering you did to yourself, you completely fried the lab and half the floor. Now don't panic, the information is all backed up and the servers are safely underground."

"Oh thank calculus. Wait… the lab is shielded." The abrupt shift from relief to puzzlement was comical and Alex smiled as she carefully helped Lena rearrange her lethargic, sore body.

"It is. Heavily."

"And Winn was at the computer. And I was standing next to it."

"Smart lady, staying away from the business end."

"And I was still knocked out…"

"Ten hours ago. Yes."

That made green eyes blink owlishly. "Ten… hours?"

"Yes ma'am. Now, you ready to sit up fully? Because as much as I want to growl at you to take it easy, you have a Big Gun to finish up and I understand that need."

Used to the welcome feeling of Alex's hands on her body, Lena willingly let her girlfriend maneuver her into swinging her legs over the edge of the diagnostic bed. It was a good excuse for Lena to curl her arms around Alex, drawing her into a full-body hug.

Despite being right off the main infirmary, Alex couldn't resist the need to hold her girl for long moments.

"Were you here the whole time?" Lena asked softly, her vulnerability and hope naked in her tone.

"A lot of it. Kara sat with you for a few hours too. We didn't want you to be alone."

It was another milestone, healing something broken in Lena. Someone, for the first time in her life, had cared enough to sit with her while she recovered. There were so many emotions blooming her chest, a hot pressure like steam trying to escape. Or tears. Sniffling quietly, she rubbed the moisture into Alex's shirt and husked out a rough, "thank you."

Understanding the shaky vulnerability, Alex stroked her messy hair and tried to lighten the mood a bit. "Frankly, my coworkers are probably thankful you got me to sleep."

"I'd have to be knocked out to get any sleep without you."

It was an echo of Alex's own sentiment said days ago when they had cuddled on the air mattress in her office and the words warmed them both as much as the quiet moments together.

\----

Much warier of their toy, Lena and Winn continued their work. They had both been poked and prodded by the DEO medical staff, who were unhappy with letting the weary twosome back to work, but understood the necessity. Technicians had replaced the tech fried by the electromagnetic pulse while some of the science minds in the building had fabricated a new housing for the power pack and the business end of the Big Gun. Some wit had even etched in 'EMPOS' and the Ghostbusters symbol to keep with the theme.

Around them, the DEO shifted into high gear, mission preparedness taking on a feverish pitch. No one paid any attention to the winter sunlight as it stole through the windows as it faded to a deeply grey gloom. They all ignored it to avoid taking it as a bad omen.

Still, many of them jumped when the afternoon flashed bright and thunder shook National City.

In the lab, there was no more banter and fun. Sore and feeling the pressure of a fast-approaching deadline, Winn and Lena were like people possessed as they fiddled the gun down into something manageable. It had to be reasonably transportable, not leaving the wearer dangerously hindered. They would have worked towards that end with all their might anyway, but both Lena and Winn knew that Alex herself would be carrying it.

No one actually had to say it.

"It's not going to be enough," Lena fretted, at the end of her rope. She was exhausted and both body and brain felt like she'd been put through a blender. "We can't send her-- them in there with just one shot! And not a full-powered one at that!"

The battery given to them was magnificent, but it was still too heavy, too bulky, too underpowered. Even with three of them standing by, a single shot would drain a battery and there was just no quick way to swap the units out. Others could carry the spares, but they might get separated from Alex.

And only three shots…

Five days were narrowing down fast and the gun just wasn't going to be effective enough. 

There was a ruckus of sound and several heavily dressed and helmeted figures moved past the open door of the lab. Lena only noted them in that NCPD was printed in large letters across their backs. Then she blinked in surprise when a small, just as heavily bulked out figure stepped into the room.

"Maggie," Lena breathed, feeling a shudder of relief go through her. If Maggie was here and dressed for war, that meant someone else was watching Alex's back. 

Nodding, the detective walked over to the powerpack where Lena's hands hovered in mid-motion.

"Are you going too?"

"Hell yes. This was my tip and I'm not going to let the DEO have all the fun." The easygoing arrogance coupled with that charming, dimply smile, did immeasurable things to reassure Lena. "Rumor has it you're having weight and power issues. This should help."

With a rip of velcro, the bulky body armor gaped open to show a white tank top beneath and Maggie brought out a fist-sized box she had been carrying next to her heart. With a twist, the box opened and blue light flashed from within. Several machines bleeped plaintively as though in strange reaction to the glow. A rotation of wrist had the object within rolling out onto Maggie's open hand.

"Turns out a recent raid on a very hinky Lord Tech facility was my best bust to date and I bagged this, my crown jewel."

The sphere was some three inches across, an inner orb covered in tiny, scale-like facets and enclosed in a thick metal casing with large, organically-shaped holes cut to reveal the blue within.

"The Kryptonian Omegahedron that was used to power Myriad."

Winn made an entirely undignified squeak, while Lena just stared at the thing.

"I hear just one of these can power an entire city. Now, let's see if it can save lives instead of destroying them."

Nodding wordlessly, Lena almost startled when Maggie took her wrist in hand and set the sphere on her palm. It was heavy and oddly warm, pulsing faintly with an inner life. Cradling the filthy, bruised hand in hers, Maggie gently folded Lena's fingers around the alien device. Bloodshot, glassy green eyes flicked up to her darker gaze.

"I want everyone to come home too. Could you use a hand? I'm no engineer, but they don't call us the science police because it's a cute name. actually, it's a stupid name, but bureaucracy is a bitch to get anything changed. And can you imagine reissuing all the uniforms and paperwork and ID? A nightmare."

The patter worked to ease Lena back into the moment and she found herself smiling. "You know more about this thing than I do. Please, I'd be grateful for any help."

So Maggie found herself stripping her upper half to the tank top and tossing the mess to a workbench before standing shoulder to shoulder with the woman she quite literally had not a single reason to like and every reason to dislike. But if there was one thing Maggie prided herself on, it was reading people and despite everything, Lena Luthor was one of the good ones.


	13. The Tiger's Prowlings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J'onn could not stop the huff of gentle amusement she had so clearly been fishing for, warmed by her smile. It was that strong, sweet personality that made Alex so irresistible, even as she seemed eternally oblivious of how she affected others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing Alex a bit more in her work persona here.
> 
> Happy Spring Equinox everyone!

While Alex was under no illusions that she could control every aspect of what they were about to embark on, nor ensure every fiddly detail was attended to, she would be damned if she didn't do her best to maximize their chances!

Besides, no matter their best efforts, they really had no idea what to expect out in the desert.

They'd almost discounted Tobin's ranting. After all, no money had changed hands for his information. Still, they'd turned a satellite in that direction, watched enough car traffic trickle in and out of a supposedly deserted old industrial park to warrant suspicion. So J'onn had sent up a small team to check the facility in question. They'd barely had time to set up when the trucks had begun showing up. 

In the dark of Wednesday night, three of them had trundled into the sleepy industrial park their target lay at the edge of and immediately killed their headlights. Strike one. Then they had driven straight into the building, also displaying no lights at all. Strike two. Thermal imaging showed too many blobs of heat for a simple product delivery. The blobs shifted around from the trucks to a central point for some time before the process reversed itself. Several hours later, another pair of trucks had done the same routine, with fewer heat signatures. That went on for an additional two deliveries.

The scouting team crept as close as they dared, picking up snatches of conversation, the most important being that the trucks would return in three days.

And that's when the task force would strike.

Everything was proceeding as smoothly as could be expected for such a big operation. Tools and tech had been assigned out from the heavy choppers down to space clips of ammo. Each of the teams had begun sending in reports every four hours. By the end of day, it would be hourly. Every able body was in the building to begin finalizing individual and group preparations.

With Cadmus such a huge threat, the DEO had even gotten some interdepartmental assistance mostly in the form of able bodies with their own armor and weapons. It was a relief to not have to drain so much personnel from the desert base where so many dangerous hostiles were housed.

Alex was satisfied as she could be for the time being. Not that satisfaction was in her nature. This op was a reminder of her high-strung, terrier-like drive, the hot burn of agitated need to be doing something that had started as far back as her individual cells dividing. God knows her mother enjoyed telling stories of that pregnancy…

Shaking off the distractions and memories, Alex nearly walked into a knot of agents, stepping aside and allowing herself to scowl a bit. It couldn't hurt to try and salvage what she could of her reputation as a hardass.

Even if half the time she herself hardly believed it anymore.

She knew why all this was stirred up again, the gossip still ringing in her ears. While going though her gear in the staging area for final mission prep, the words had floated over the banks over oversized lockers.

"Did it even occur to anyone that the Big Gun we're hinging The Plan on is being built by Junior Toymaker and Baby Luthor?"

The voice was a woman's and only passingly familiar, one Alex couldn't place. Nor could she identify the chorus of chuckles or the male that responded. 

"Eh, Danvers has 'em in hand."

The chuckles had been the strangest combination of warm amusement and filthy. Feeling vulnerable and exposed, Alex had stood quietly at her locker, frozen by the encounter.

She did not appreciate getting caught up in this gossipy bullshit. She'd worked excessively hard to get where she was and to be gossiped about rankled. But she could live with it. To hear the casual, ugly reminder of things that could never been shed, never be escaped by her lover and the young man who had become like a little brother to her? That bothered her more.

Those children of murderous households had become solid citizens, beacons of hope and goodness. They were talented people who had been busting their asses for nearly a week to give the DEO an edge against the cyborg who had fought Supergirl to a standstill.

Yet… they would forever be Junior Toymaker and Baby Luthor. There would never be any escaping that completely, no matter what they did.

It was sobering and had Alex wished desperately that she could go to them, reassure them when perhaps no one else would. But time was not on her side.

It also reminded her that she had yet to speak to J'onn about having M'gann locked up and she needed to stop wussing out and just do it. So she tracked him down, nearly dragged him into a small room that could be closed off from the rest of the DEO and steamrollered over every word he tried to utter.

"You don't really hate her. You're embarrassed and scared and I get that. But she saved your life, and an enemy doesn't do something like that. Don't make her into an enemy, J'onn."

There were so very many things that Alex could not control, no matter how she might want to. But she would be damned if she didn't try. 

They were locked in a stalemate, neither backing down, J'onn's expression quietly thunderous and nearly sparking red around the eyes and edges. Alex maintained her adamant calm, refusing to back down, holding his restless eyes and the gleam of alien power a dull glow deep in them. This man had been like a father to her for years now and she trusted him to her bones, but right now he was reacting out of fear and she knew it.

"I want her on my team."

Honestly, Alex was a surprised at herself for saying it as J'onn was to hear it.

"Are you certain?"

"Yeah. It feels right to have another enemy as a friend."

Stepping close, Alex put a warm hand on J'onn's severely crossed arms and looked at him beseechingly.

"Even we were enemies for a time."

As aggravated as any father and forever impressed with this seemingly unassuming Human, J'onn relented, his body language finally easing completely. "It almost seems a strange choice."

"Maybe," Alex agreed easily and spread her hands in a careless encompassing gesture. Her expression was almost childishly playful, even flirtatious of a sort. "But, y'know, my sister is Supergirl and I'm dating Lena Luthor. I like weird."

J'onn could not stop the huff of gentle amusement she had so clearly been fishing for, warmed by her smile. It was that strong, sweet personality that made Alex so irresistible, even as she seemed eternally oblivious of how she affected others. 

"I'm sorry. I should have trusted your judgment from the start. I'll free her myself."

Their hug was a warm one, a moment of sanity between souls that had found a little family in the other.

"Thank you, J'onn."

With a lighter heart and a quieter mind, Alex flashed a last smile and continued on her way. There was plenty more to be done and less and less time to get it done in. 

Half on a whim, she swung through the communication center, unsurprised at finding Susan there. "Hey, Badass Two."

Oddly, Susan only stiffened slightly before responding with a quiet, "hey."

In the past, Alex would have thought nothing of the response, but now this woman was her friend. Glancing around, she noted that they had a bit of privacy and she could sidle closer.

"You okay?"

It was clear that Susan was anything but okay, her jaw set and her expression thunderous, but a quick glance up revealed something soft and hurt in her eyes. Alex marveled that she could see the subtleties now, could feel an answering twang of empathy so powerfully. Despite the professional setting and the rules set, she reached out to place her hand on Susan's shoulder.

There was no missing the flinch that rattled Susan, but she didn't pull away.

"It's Kyra's birthday."

If Alex hadn't been listening so very hard for it, the soft words would have been lost to the background noise of the room.

"Her mom's in town, got in a couple days ago --they do this every year 'cause their birthdays are only five days apart-- and I love my work, I do, but…"

"But," Alex echoed gently. "I get it." Giving her shoulder a squeeze, Alex straightened up and her tone became businesslike. "So, what are you monitoring?"

Clearing her throat roughly, Susan blinked away the glassiness in her eyes and pushed away her personal feelings. Rattling off what she had been doing, she noted that Alex was nodding along, then made a small surprised noise when her rolly chair was pulled away from the computer.

"Excellent work, Agent Vasquez, now go take a breather. I got this for a bit. Shoo."

That was said loudly enough to carry to nearby ears and Susan only hesitated a long moment before getting up. She was perfectly aware that Alex would just dump her out of the chair if needed.

"Thanks," she murmured softly and soaked up the quirk of grin Alex flashed over her shoulder. 

\----

Time was ticking down; a silent countdown in the back of every mind in the building. Things were proceeding nicely and Alex knew she couldn't avoid visiting the lab any longer.

It was cowardly and she knew it, but Alex had no idea how to handle the upcoming separation. It was a complete unknown and Alex hated these sorts of unknowns. She'd almost begged Susan for advice, but her pal was already upset…

The lab was a disaster, like every movie mad genius' brain had thrown up all over it. Winn was still at the computer, working on his Igor hunchback while Lena and-- bizarrely-- Maggie were on either side of the gun and its power pack. Strong arms tense with the effort of standing perfectly still, Maggie was a Human macramé project, her fingers intertwined with a rainbow of wires while Lena poked at them and soldered. Both of them sported small burns and Lena looked like a zombie who hadn't slept in weeks.

"This close," Lean said dully, never looking away from her work, but holding up one hand briefly with thumb and forefinger held a bit apart.

"So close," Winn muttered in bleary agreement.

With a couple more wires burned together and a visible flinch from Maggie, Lena set aside the soldering iron and rubbed her eyes for a moment. Alex ached to go to her, hold her and breathe in the scents of her to keep close to her heart while she ran into danger; and in turn, lend Lena strength. 

With a gusty sigh, Lena grabbed a pair of small probes on wires and began delicately touching them to the wires still dangling like drying spaghetti from Maggie's fingers. Every time she called out a color, Winn echoed back an affirmative, until they hit blue and there was a negative that made all three groan dispiritedly. 

"So close?" Alex tried to encourage them as she stepped into the lab, careful where she put her feet, and patted Maggie on the back. "Now, I'm no engineer, but I can solder a bit."

"You're hired," Lena spoke around a yawn and leaned into Alex as she picked her way around the table and pressed a kiss to her head. "No teasing me that I need a shower. I'm aware."

In truth, Alex didn't mind. Far from it. With Lena's scent strong in her nose, she really wanted to press close to her scalp and wallow, but forced herself to only indulge for a long moment before straightening up. "Take ten, mad scientists, I got this."

For a moment, Lena hesitated before stiffly standing and hissing in displeasure from the pain and stiffness. While she walked it off, Alex took her spot, examining the wires all over Maggie's strong hands.

"That's a mess."

"You should have seen it an hour ago."

Snorting with amusement, Alex looked down into the guts of the power pack and her gaze shot back up to a very smug Maggie. "Is that…?"

"Yep. Because I'm that good. You can keep it when we're done. I got to keep it long enough for bragging rights."

Bemused, Alex shook her head and began gently removing the good wires from Maggie's fingers and tucking them away in tiny compartments around the Omegahedron.

"Thanks for coming in to help."

"Hey, you don't get all the fun, Danvers."

Snorting in sarcastic amusement, Alex finished with the wires that checked out and watched Maggie shake out her hands and shoulders. Once stretched out, she took up the problematic blue wire again so that Alex could begin tracing it to find the problem. She forced herself to not be in a hurry because Lena and Winn had immediately slid down the wall and fallen asleep propping one another up. Gazing fondly at the two of them, Alex checked her watch and decided she could make up fifteen minutes somewhere and let them get in an actual nap.

Maggie watched Alex's face, how she stared at her companions for a long moment then smiled and went back to what she was doing. 

When she had first met Agent Danvers, she hadn't seen the woman underneath. Just thought her one more suit with more arrogance than ability. She'd been dead wrong. Alex's capacity to care was depthless. Between that, the badassery she wore so effortlessly, the dorky edge to soften her and sheer good looks, she was quite a package. 

Alex's eyes flickered away from the hot tip of the soldering iron when Maggie sighed, but got no more acknowledgment than a headshake. With a hiss of annoyance, she burned a finger, but shook it off.

"Don't go gettin' clumsy on me now."

Rather than verbally respond the sass, Alex just wavered the iron close to Maggie's fingers and gave her a wry look.

The warning only made Maggie grin.


	14. Hit It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The door clicked shut, followed by the 'snick' of deadbolt and Alex emptied their hands before wrapping Lena up in a gentle hug. For the first time in days, she felt the sharp edges of her life dull down a bit, her breath coming easier. The feeling was echoed in a deep, shuddering sigh that Lena breathed out against her neck as she loosely twined her arms around Alex's waist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ever think I fell for you, or fell over you. I didn't fall in love, I rose in it. I saw you and made up my mind.  
> -Toni Morrison, _Jazz_  
>  I stumbled over this quote some time ago and I can't explain exactly why it works so well, but it instantly felt right for this pairing and story.
> 
> Additional notes: Thank you for the Stitch banter, SPL!

The quiet of the lab was the strangest mix of easy and awkward, but both Alex and Maggie had grown used to it. That was where they were now, trying to find the ease they had once shared… before everything had gotten so emotionally laden and weird. 

"I got J'onn to let M'gann go and I'm hoping she'll join my team," Alex distractedly spoke up as she very carefully traced back the ornery blue wire where it vanished into a cone of solder against the Omegahedron's housing. "I could use that level of warrior at my back. Anyone could."

Still getting used to being able to banter with Alex again, Maggie took a moment to respond, cringing at how awkward she sounded. "I got so used to her at the bar that I forget she's a Martian too. You'd think the fight club would have gotten though my thick head."

Alex made a noncommittal noise. That took Maggie aback with the relaxed nature of the response. Was this the same woman who had been so awkward at their last meeting? Remembering those heady kisses, the ache of rejection, Maggie swallowed the lump in her throat down, willing calm. That had been a really, really awkward night.

"I'm surprised you didn't recruit Stitch on your Hawaii getaway."

If her hands hadn't been occupied holding the wire, Maggie would have slapped herself in the forehead. What was she, twelve? Alex's hands had stilled and she glanced up with an odd look on her face.

"Wrong island." The sarcasm was welcome, easing some of Maggie's tension. They had been like this from the start all those months ago at the airport, working to discover who had attacked the president. It was safe and familiar and reassured Maggie that maybe they could be friends again. Quirking a sassy little grin, Alex turned away the hot iron to poke Maggie in the hand with an index finger. "How did you know about that?"

"Please, gay men have nothing on cops when it comes to gossip."

Alex's dry look spoke volumes and Maggie couldn't stop the bubble of soft amusement that escaped her. Rolling her eyes, Alex bent to her task again, but her voice was amused under the exasperation. "Argh. Though I guess if anyone was going to find an alien randomly in Hawaii, it would be me."

"Well, you do collect them, even more than me it seems."

"You sleep with them, I befriend them."

"Or make them family," Maggie added even as they both flinched, the quiet of the lab once again uncomfortable. Setting down the soldering iron into its stand, Alex rubbed both hands over her face.

"I'm sorry, that sounded way different in my head. That was totally uncalled for."

Hating the regret in Alex's voice, Maggie was quick to jump in, caught halfway between desperation and nonchalance. "It's okay."

"No, Maggie, it's not. We can't be friends and be assholes. So, I'm really sorry."

Her bravery had never ceased to be amazing and Maggie marveled, once again trapped between real admiration and regret at missed opportunities. "Right, sorry. I didn't mean to be a jerk. Apology accepted."

"There, see? We can be grownups."

"Smartass."

Perhaps it was the shifts in mood in the room that roused Lena, the murmur of voices and the stink of burned wires stimulating her senses. Still dizzy and aching with exhaustion, she hazily remained where she was, slumped against the wall, Winn heavy against her side where they propped one another up. 

"You wanted to see me, Alex?"

Lena did not know the voice. A woman, soft-spoken and wary. Both Alex and Maggie were mildly surprised, looking over to the door on the other side of the big work table.

Alex was glad she'd set down the hot iron and not accidentally damaged the ornery blue wire. Wary and clearly uncomfortable, M'gann stood in the doorway, her expression unreadable. Leaning back to stretch out her back, Alex calmly opened her mind in silent encouragement if M'gann wanted to take it.

"I could use another warrior at my back," Alex said conversationally and the conflict on M'gann's face hurt to watch. 

"And you're asking me?"

The scoff of disbelief covered achingly deep hurts and Alex understood that.

"We're a community in all the good and bad ways. Cadmus is a threat to that. Regardless of what you decide, you're free to go."

For a moment the room was quiet, Lena picking up that she should remain silent where she was listening in. Then Maggie's voice broke the tense quiet, her tone as gentle as her expression. "There's a new owner at the bar. I'm sure they'd love to have you back. You'll like them."

The internal debate flickered over M'gann's face. "You'll be leaving soon?"

Alex twisted her wrist to check her watch. "Final briefing is in an hour twenty."

For another long moment, M'gann did not move. Then she nodded sharply. "I will fight at your side, Alex Danvers."

Catching the formality of the sentence, Alex quickly adapted, returning the nod. "I'm honored, M'gann M'orzz."

It was enough and the Martian woman relaxed and the entire atmosphere of the lab eased. Turning, Maggie shared a 'whew' look with Alex and startled when she noticed green eyes watching. "Hey, you're up. Alex fixed your wire."

That woke Winn with a snort and stretched as Lena stiffly got to her feet. Leaning against Alex's back she squinted at the neat coils of wire around the Omegahedron. "You do nice work, Agent Tiger. Winn, test it."

His whoop of pure delight was proof enough that they had all succeeded. 

\----

With the test program coming all thumbs up, the floor was cleared and the trigger pulled. Unlike the accidental test, the business end had been shielded, allowing only a strong tingle to affect the audience. Arcs of deadly electricity lanced out to the grounding rod awaiting it and the air seemed to throb with a weird energy, killing the electronics that lay in the blast's path. 

Winn and Lena danced around like monkeys for long moments, utterly delighted with their accomplishment. Maggie was shocked to get hugged by both and get babbled thanks for the fancy battery. Alex grabbed them both by their collars and smiled wryly at the other two women. "Can I leave that thing under your guard? They need showers and sleep and I'll be back once I change. If not, just bring it along to the briefing."

"You got it," Maggie agreed easily and M'gann nodded.

"Thanks. Now come on you two."

Just as she had done four days ago, Alex dropped Winn off at the men's locker room to shower while she herded Lena to her office. As much as they both longed for the bed, there was no time and they grabbed clean clothes and sundries to head back out. 

But Alex didn't take Lena back to the locker room, but herded her elsewhere. At an unmarked door, she produced a plain metal key and let them into what turned out to be an unremarkable but scrupulously clean industrial bathroom. 

The door clicked shut, followed by the 'snick' of deadbolt and Alex emptied their hands before wrapping Lena up in a gentle hug. For the first time in days, she felt the sharp edges of her life dull down a bit, her breath coming easier. The feeling was echoed in a deep, shuddering sigh that Lena breathed out against her neck as she loosely twined her arms around Alex's waist.

"I've missed you. So much."

The soft words in that distinct, deep voice made Alex shiver pleasantly.

"I've missed you too. So close and yet so far away."

Shifting to cradle that dramatic jaw in her hands, Alex nuzzled at Lena's mouth to get the feel of her once more. Bare-faced and with lips slightly chapped, this was her girl every bit as much as her painted perfection was. Before things progressed, Alex gently leaned away, nodding at the sundries on the counter.

"I'll get the shower warmed up if you want to brush your teeth."

"That bad, huh?" Lena said wryly, but they broke apart so she could dig into her things while Alex just chuckled lightly. 

Unclipping her tac belt to hang it from a rack of hooks, Alex fiddled with the shower settings and let the water run while she methodically began stripping. "This shower is a perk of being the boss' favorite. Few people even know it's here."

Lena made some noncommittal noise around the efforts of scrubbing off fuzzy teeth before grabbing their showering things to hand off and wearily stripping. Alex quickly scrubbed shampoo through her shorter locks, shuffling aside to allow Lena space to join her in the stall. She had had soaped down and was rinsing off before suds had even soaked Lena's water-blackened hair. Something clicked in Alex's head and heart, shocked her with an intense blast of feeling.

They were awkward suddenly.

An emotional pulling back that spoke of hurt and loss, driven home by the fact that Lena had not raised her head since beginning to clean up. 

"Lee?" The gentle query made Lena visibly flinch, and she nearly threw herself into Alex's open arms, her grip like a vice. "What's wrong?"

For long moments, there was no sound but the falling water and Lena's hard breaths against Alex's neck. When she did speak, it was a hoarse spill of words. "I didn't really get what it would be like to know you were going off into danger!" 

Running her hands soothingly over Lena's back and shoulders, Alex felt that mostly unfamiliar jolt of the clash between her work and those she cared for. She remembered Kara's look of betrayal after DEO squads had shot her from the sky, her mother's horror that she had thrown in her lot with the very organization that had taken her father from her. 

"I didn't get how hard it was going to be to let you go."

Alex didn't need to see the tears to hear them, to feel the answering pressure in her head and heart. 

"I've never had someone to come home to," Alex confessed tenderly and let Lena pull away enough to meet her eyes. Stroking back tendrils of soaked hair, she traced a raven's wing brow, that strong nose and luscious mouth. "Oh sure, I have family and friends, but never left behind a sweetheart."

Lena's green eyes were shaded grey with stress and exhaustion while Alex's gaze was open and sad. Her train of thought derailed, Lena roughly pulled Alex into a hard, biting kiss, pouring out the words and emotions that crowded her heart.

"Promise you'll come home to me," she begged, backing up and pulling Alex with her until the stainless steel wall was cold against her back.

Oh, how Alex wanted to. How she was desperate to soothe that fear and loss that wracked them both. But she couldn't. Lowering her head, she pressed her forehead to Lena's nose. "I can't promise."

The words hurt to say, hurt to feel, and her own pain echoed back in Lena's harsh sob. Fisting her hands into bobbed hair, she yanked Alex into another hard, desperate kiss. "Then lie to me," she breathed into Alex's mouth and felt her Tiger shudder.

"I promise to come home to you."

\----

It was time.

With quiet, deadly seriousness, the bulky powerpack was hoisted up and settled heavily on the shoulder and hip straps. As expected, no one had even considered laying a hand on the thing except for Alex. 

Winn muttered and fussed over the pack while Lena pulled at the straps to ensure the weight was as evenly distributed as possible. The business end of the weapon slotted into the loop for it on Alex's tactical belt, the heavy power line to a pair of springy lanyards to keep it from snagging.

With a series of heavy clicks, helmet and tactical vest was in place and Alex was ready to go. Lena was dying inside, words and emotions clogging her throat and eyes. Her sweet lover had been left behind, drained away in the shower. Instead, this hardened warrior was what Alex had become, nearly to the exclusion of all else.

And it was that hardened warrior, jaw set, who stomped out, loaded for bear. Winn was left with hands hanging helplessly and Lena choking down terror for her loved ones.

Being hard was the only way Alex could do this, survive this. Or so she thought. Her strike team waited in the hall, eyes clear and expressions set. Did they all get a chance to say what might be goodbye to their loved ones? 

Did they take it?

That stopped Alex dead in her tracks, the rest of her team freezing.

"Wait a sec."

Startled, both engineers looked over as Alex rushed back in, Lena's voice caught as she was very thoroughly kissed. This was her Tiger, all teeth and soft belly, rage and tenderness, focus and adoration.

"Al…" she whispered roughly, their lips brushing.

"I love you."

The old romance cliché of the world seeming to slow to a stop was too silly to be believed. Until Lena found herself frozen staring into those intense brown eyes, those three words ringing in her head.

"I know it's too soon and I don't care," Alex rambled on, rubbing a thumb over Lena's lower lip, the words rushed and desperate. "I fell for you somewhere and I don't want to come up for air."

"Alex…"

Every time her name had fallen from Lena's lips, Alex could remember it, clear as day, all the way back to the beginning where they bonded beside the sea. Once more she drew strength from this unusual woman, this sweet, strong person born of coldness and fear. 

Another hard, desperate kiss and Alex studied those beautiful gray-green eyes. "I'll do my damned best to come home to you in one piece, I swear. Hold the fort down for me?"

It felt like a physical pang in her chest to pull away, rushing for the door at a trot, eyes flooded with tears.


	15. The Hole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something in the distance bellowed, a feral, dangerous sound that made the fine hairs stand up. It crackled through the comms and floated through the twists of tunnel and chamber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I feel I need to put a big warning on this chapter. WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS DARK. At least for me.  
> No, this is not true darkfic or horror, but if you want to avoid a few jumpscares and some violence, please feel free to skip this chapter and I will do a quick summary in the notes at the bottom.
> 
> Due to how this story played out, yes, I wandered far from the fluff and into dark waters, but I go where the muses lead. To grow, our need a bit of conflict, of terror and separation and clinging to hope. The journey will led them back to each other and the future they can have.  
> There will be some new characters and an old friend or two to spice up the mix and add to the potential of made families. It's an important theme I think we all miss in second season. But I assure you, the fluff will return!  
> Now, onward!
> 
> PS: I'm also giving y'all two chapters, just in case anyone wants to skip 15 here. <3

" _We have nine teams going in, including our joint-op SWAT squad from the NCPD, so play nice. Our primary objective is to shut this operation down by any means necessary. We will begin the op in radio silence with the exception of burst transmission tone codes. The longer we have the element of surprise, people, the better._ "

The words Alex had spoken at the final briefing echoed in her mind.

" _The facility is an old warehouse at the edge of an old industrial park. As of a few minutes ago, the surrounding buildings are all empty, which I'll take a good sign. The choppers will drop the strike teams off a kilometer from the building and you each have your strike zone to target._ "

They hit the ground running, a spill of black from the choppers that raced across the sand towards the lumpy shapes of the old industrial park. Alex was immediately grateful to her alien companions, both Kara and M'gann hoisting the heavy power pack until they were half-carrying her.

Teams peeled off into the darkness and once more Alex's words echoed in her memories.

" _There are at least three additional access points located here, here and here. Between thermal imaging and those points, we're looking at a minimum of a five acre footprint and no idea if the facility continues deeper underground._ "

In the old warehouse, Alex caught sight of heavy tire tracks in the dirt, a scuffle of many footprints leading away to their first real target.

" _Due to the size of the convoy that came through three days ago, we've estimated a minimum of sixty hostiles within the facility. We have no idea what sort of technology we're up against and Cadmus is not above using alien lifeforms against us. And yes, they added enough lead to the warehouse's floor to stymie Supergirl, sorry about that._ "

Beside Alex, Kara barely kept from squirming in her tactical gear, completely unaccustomed to being so heavily covered up. It had been Lena's sarcastic comment that maybe a black-ops raid wasn't the best place for all that red and blue that had precipitated that. Alex herself had painted that familiar, pretty face with shades and black and grey to make her blend in utterly with the troops. M'gann had simply morphed herself into a perfect mimicry of an agent while still her preferred shape.

With a deft touch, experts in their craft swarmed the well-hidden door that the footprints led too. In moments they had spoofed the sensors and broken the locks. The armored door swung open to a dimly lit tunnel, bringing with it organic smells that dredged up a final memory of the briefing.

" _The scouts reported that there were, and I quote, 'zoo smells' coming from the secondary access points. Your guess is as good as mine._ "

It was not at all an inaccurate description and the hardened agents to the last man and woman could only wonder; what could make that smell?

Swallowing down a visceral animal reaction, Alex raised an imperious hand and flicked her hand forward to get them all moving. Each member could hear her distant words clear in their minds.

" _Work smart, stay together and do not underestimate what we are up against. Dismissed_."

And they descended into darkness. 

Long moments became agonizing minutes while the crowd filtered deep into the Cadmus base. They gradually fanned out and tried to not gawk at the elaborate facility around them. It wasn't fancy, more like old mechanical tunnels beneath a city, but it was extensive. Enemy personnel were caught off guard and suppressed, left unconscious and zip-tied like Christmas hams. 

Alex grinned like a maniac as they came around a corner and in one quick glance she knew they'd hit the jackpot. In one smooth move, she dropped her SMG to hang from its tethers and swept up the business end of the EMPOS. As promised, the Electromagnetic Pulse On Steroids blazed with hot lightning, the throb of invisible energy a terrifying harmony to visible destruction. 

The IT center went down in a blaze of fire, smoke and screams. What the pure electricity didn't fry, the EM pulse did and none of the half dozen techs were inclined to get up. Most of them probably never would. 

"Good god…" Susan breathed half in admiration and half in horror at the devastation of just one shot.

"Comms up!" Alex barked and tapped the device at her ear. "At least one computer center is down. They know we're here. Teams, check in."

Each team leader called in, several of them close enough that the voices could be heard echoing in the tunnels. 

Then Smithers on Four suddenly said, "what the hell is that?"

Something in the distance bellowed, a feral, dangerous sound that made the fine hairs stand up. It crackled through the comms and floated through the twists of tunnel and chamber.

As though in answer, something howled back.

And something roared. 

That was when the screaming began.

\----

"Y'know, this video game bullshit is a hell of a lot less fun on this side of the screen."

Maggie could only make a rude noise of agreement to Jack's irritated comment where he hovered at her shoulder. Neither of them was going to comment on the note of terror in his voice, one that echoed in the coldness that had settled in Maggie's belly and in the tremor of her muscles.

The science police had seem some pretty weird shit in National City. 

Randomly becoming the central hub of alien activity on Earth, weird shit was inevitable. But whatever was stalking these godforsaken tunnels, it was way up on the weird-shit-o-meter.

They'd already lost Daniel to something that threw coils of suckered tentacles out of the shadows to drag him screaming into the darkness. If not for Dottie's lightning reflexes and that disconcerting bowie knife she carried on ops, it would have gotten Ray too. In the mere seconds it took for the four of them to follow, Daniel and the monster were gone, a trail of slime and gore dripping from a vertical shaft that carried the last of their teammate's dying screams. 

"Team nine," Dottie said with her usual calm in the face of everything life threw at her. "We lost one. Heads up, there's some sort of cephalopod on the loose, big enough to take on two of us at once. And it's fast." Her sudden smile with its crazed edge bloomed over that lovely, stoic face. "Though it's down a limb and a half."

The black sheep squad of the National City SWAT teams were the only ones crazy enough to accompany Maggie after what had happened at L-Corp three weeks ago. Cyborgs as impossible to stand up against as Supergirl and reality itself turning into a whirlpool in midair was just too much for everyone else. Besides, these mavericks wouldn't be believed anyway, so the DEO's anonymity was pretty safe.

"If we make it out of here alive, I'm not crawling out of a bottle for a week."

Jack was clearly edging closer the edge of panic, so of course Dottie had to needle him in that calm, almost cheerful voice. There was definitely something odd about that one. "It's no fun if someone doesn't almost die a few times."

"Christ, Underhill, really?"

The morbid banter was oddly grounding because Maggie wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't in some horrible nightmare.

So far there'd been reports of something that looked like it was half man and half bear, some sort of crocodile built like an English bulldog and what someone swore in panic was a werewolf. There was something big stomping about, but no one had seen more than thick gray hide and a possibly bipedal stance. No one that could report back anyway.

Team Six claiming to have seen ghosts-- lighting quick figures that vanished into thin air the moment they were seen-- seemed trivial in the face of everything else going on.

Maggie would never know exactly what warned her. The scream of instinct, a small alert from her squad, a scrape of sound; but she flinched down just enough that the inhumanly huge club of a fist whistled right past her head. If she'd been one inch taller, that would have been her helmet crushed into the crumbling wall beside her. 

Even as the squad scrambled back, Maggie lost her footing, and something bellowed like a cartoon nightmare. Around the corner it loomed, a grey, indistinct shape too big for the tunnel. It seemed broad across the shoulders like a person, but hunched up like a quadruped trying poorly to walk on two legs. Its head was misshapen, nose-heavy, but quick and incongruously weird ears drooped from the side of its head like Shrek. 

Even as the tunnel lit up with gunfire and Maggie felt the floor crumble beneath her as great, round feet slammed down close, too close, she saw a back-curved thorn of horn on the thing's face, huge, blunt fingered hands reaching for her squad.

As Maggie fell away through the shattered floor, all she could think through her own scream was that she'd been taken out by a humanoid-ish rhinoceros.

What a way to go…

\----

The bear had found Team One, caught Susan with brutal claws and tossed her aside like a sack of wheat. Kara grabbed her even as M'gann loomed large to her natural form, shoving the rest of the squad to safety and leaping on the bear-thing. 

"Go!" she bellowed and the tunnel rang with terrible violence. As much as Alex hated to, she knew that retreat was their only option. Kara's hands were full with Susan and they'd already lost one man to the chaos.

So they raced away, desperate to find their target and hopefully stop this madness.

In a dimly-lit, cavernous chamber full of superstructure and machinery, they found him.

"You!" Henshaw screamed like a madman, his laser eye cutting a swatch of devastation through the dimness. Kara leapt away, still cradling Susan, even as Alex dropped. "How many times do I have to beat you down, you freak?"

"Kara, no!" Alex knew her shout was too late, her sister a blaze of blue and red streaking across the huge room to slam into Henshaw like a meteor. That started the fight that no Human eye could follow. 

"I have no shot!" Alex yelled as much in frustration and worry as to keep HQ posted. Then she saw an instant of opportunity as Henshaw paused to rip up a huge chunk of superstructure as, across the room, Kara was gaining her feet for another lunge. Without an instant's hesitation, Alex thumbed the button and pure energy blasted out in a cone of destruction. 

But Hank Henshaw was nothing if not a survivor. In a blur, he had leapt away, whipping around the van-sized chunk of debris like a club to smash Kara away, through a wall and into the darkness beyond. 

Alex almost got the business end of the EMPOS around in time.

Almost.

With a grab like a football player after a moth, Henshaw had her, the fistful of BDU throttling her, and all she could do was flail ineffectually in his grip.

"Nice toy," Henshaw sneered and Alex was more disturbed by the familiar features twisted with hate than she wanted to admit. "Is it breakable?"

Dropping Alex where he'd hoisted her into the air, she gasped for air, barely drawing in enough of it in to scream when an inhumanly strong foot slammed down on the gun end of the EMPOS. If not for the streak of impact bashing Henshaw away, he might have pulped Alex's entire right hand instead of merely shattering bones and bruising flesh. Yelling in pain, she curled protectively around her agonized extremity, choking down animal cries of pain.

"I'll kill you!"

No, it couldn't be…

Like a ghost from her past, the voice snarled at Henshaw, who bellowed back, "traitor!"

Animal panic and shock and pure agony wiped out years of training and Alex panicked, she was hurt and pinned down and confused and she knew that voice…

"Get up! Goddammit, Tiger, get up and fight!"

In her ear, the terrified, demanding shout cut through the panic. Her lover, the sweet, adoring woman who's soul had touched hers. Alex knew her, trusted her, latched on to the familiarity of her voice like an anchor.

"Lena…"

"Get up, Alex, you have to fight! You promised you would come home to me. You promised…"

Her voice had dropped to a whisper, a desperate plea that carried across the miles between them and gave Alex strength. Panting and whining harshly, Alex managed to release the waist belt and drag her arms from the straps. Sitting up, she nearly gagged on the pain, but managed to get her ruined hand shoved into her armored vest.

"Get up," Lena whispered through the background chatter of violence in the comms and Alex found the strength to loosen the gun wand from its tethers, to grip it as tightly as she could in her left hand…

And she stood.

Limping, the powerpack scraping along the ground behind her like some sort of deadly child's toy, she kept every ounce of her broken focus on his form, standing over another man she knew all too well. Voices faded as she hyper-focused and she was driven on by the buzz of pain in her head and her own breath harsh in her ears.

Alex's hatred of Hank Henshaw was visceral and so very personal. He had blackmailed her family to keep Kara hidden, had taken her father from her, had hunted the man who had become a second father to her, had tried to kill the woman she'd fallen in love with and the sister she adored with all her soul.

There was no hesitation when she jammed the bent end of the EMPOS into his ribs and fired it at point blank range. He screamed and flailed, the stench of burnt metal and flesh harsh in the air as Alex fired again. Electricity arced and flashed as she was batted away as though hit by a car to slump there and just try to breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are skipping this chapter, these are the highlights from my timeline:  
> The op is set in motion.  
> Maggie's SWAT team is ambushed, she falls through the broken floor.  
> A bear-man attacks Alex's team, wounding Susan. M'gann stays behind to fight it.  
> The sisters confront Henshaw.  
> Kara is smashed through a wall, Alex doesn't manage to get off an accurate shot.  
> Henshaw stomps Alex's hand and the EMPOS gun, but Jeremiah attacking him minimizes the damage.  
> Lena, through comms, begs Alex to get up and fight.  
> Alex shoots Henshaw point-blank twice and he bats her aside.


	16. Crumbling Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her shout was a heart that could no longer function on its own, of a lover who had fallen hard and needed to return heartfelt words that had left a void behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I go a bit non-linear in the last section of this chapter, but it should be pretty obvious where it parallels chapter 15.
> 
> After a rambling convo with some pals, I have headcanoned that Margot Kidder is Jeremiah's mother and Alex's grandmother. Because it delights me and plays into the show's use of past Super projects. Just LOOK at the pictures! Even the hair is right!  
> http://shatterpath.tumblr.com/post/158512648898/so-anyone-else-with-me-in-the-headcanon-that-this

For a split second, there was nothingness beneath her and Maggie's instincts screamed in warning. Then she crashed down onto a surface, the impact driving the breath from her lungs and making her whole body hurt. For a moment there was a strange quiet as debris pattered down around her, making a dull metallic sound.

Then she started sliding.

"Son of a…"

Flailing, she skittered down a relatively smooth slope, protrusions tearing at her heavy tac gear and jabbing into her ribs hard enough that she wasn't certain she wasn't going to be bleeding when the hell-ride stopped.

Then she was smashed across a steel bar hard enough that she heard bones crack even as agony lanced through her. One more short drop and at last, the cold concrete beneath her seemed to be stable and solid. 

Dizzy and hurting, Maggie flopped boneless from her side to her back, gasping at the hot blaze of agony from her left leg. Well, at least her boot was facing the correct direction, that was something.

Debris suddenly started pattering down and Maggie jerked her attention from her hurting leg up to the ceiling. It was further away than she realized and it made her swallow hard. That was a potentially deadly drop, over twenty feet easy. But the fissure had opened up just above the cab of the hulking paramilitary vehicle she was now sprawled at the foot of. She'd slid down its angled face and landed across the hefty brush guard across the nose.

"This day," she muttered and took a deep breath before reaching up to reactivate her comm. Only to find that the device was gone. Before she could painfully move her arms to find the wire and reinsert the comm in her ear, a bellow froze her.

Sure enough, the rhino-thing was pawing at the gap, dropping chunks of concrete.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Clearly frustrated and annoyed, the beast jammed its head through the crumbling opening and Maggie needed no more encouragement to get her ass in gear. Grunting in pain, she got up on her elbows and began dragging herself under the big vehicle. The thing had enough ground clearance that she could have sat up and not hit her head, which would afford her good line of sight. It also reduced the effectiveness of the hiding place as cover, particularly as she was in no condition to escape.

The truck shook beneath a heavy weight and more concrete spattered all around the nose end. Snorting and breathing heavily, the rhino-beast hesitated above her, its mass held up by tons of steel. Muffled voices were calling her name and a spatter of automatic fire made the creature bellow again.

"Go on a DEO raid I said," Maggie muttered to herself. "It'll be fun, I said." Jerking the cocking handle back, she popped out the magazine from the MP5 and groped into her vest for a full one. "Imagine the great stories you'll get, I said." The magazine clicked home and she winced in pain at the effort of locking it home with a shove. "Make friends with a black ops agent, you'll have similar interests I said." Patting herself down, she found her service pistol still clipped in place at her side and four of the squarish flash-bang grenades. "Yeah, except apparently she has the same death wish as you, dumbass." 

For a long moment, Maggie was struck by the terror of the situation; separated from the others, help nowhere in sight, leg and side throbbing with agony in time to her heartbeat. Creaking and thudding, the huge truck broadcast the heavy movements of her comic book nemesis, coming to finish her off. 

She really couldn't hold the tears that welled up against herself. "And I wonder why I can't have nice things. Okay, then, bring it on."

It was time to go down fighting.

\----

The quiet was eerie. The distant sounds of violence were dying down, their echoes through the tunnels quieting into bursts. Blinking and coughing, Alex lay where she had fallen, her whole body humming along to the shrill internal scream that was her broken hand, trapped painfully half beneath her.

Groaning, she managed to twist her body around to lie fully on her back for a moment. Her comm was silent, assumedly broken somehow, and she ached all over. Unlatching the helmet, she let it fall away, the lamp strapped to it swinging around wildly until it settled upside-down to cast its beam into the dim room.

She had to get up and find out what had happened to Kara… to her father.

Blind with tears of pain, sobbing with the effort, Alex rolled to the left side and got her arm positioned and pushed up. With great effort, she somehow got her feet under her, stood there wavering for a moment before stumbling forward.

For a long moment she could only stare down at the still features of her personal boogie man. Hank Henshaw, a nightmare with a familiar face, his metal mask and the holes in his torso still smoking from the blasts of energy she had pumped into him. 

And beside him, lying still… her father.

For long moments she could only stand there and stare. Nothing felt real in that moment and she ached for Kara's steady presence, for her mother's touch, for Lena's voice in her ear. Grunting and panting, she managed to crouch down, resting her hand on the EMPOS pack, and folding herself to sit down on the cold concrete. Moving slowly, she grabbed the powerline and dragged over the bent gun end and clutched it to her side before shuffling over to her father. With the gun wand laying in her lap, she reached out trembling fingers to touch his face.

The speed in which his eyes snapped open and his hand shot out to grab her wrist somehow hardly surprised her. "Hi," she whispered softly, overwhelmed by the moment. For a moment, he only stared at her before recognition flooded his eyes.

Eyes she now could see, as a grown woman, that she still shared.

"Alex," Jeremiah breathed in wonder and sat up with intent to hug, but paused. "You're hurt."

"Worth it," she sobbed and hooked her good hand around his neck to draw him forward until she could rest their foreheads together. After a moment, he leaned away only far enough to cup her face, rub thumbs over her cheekbones, shifting to wipe his sleeve over her skin.

"There you are," Jeremiah smiled as much of the black facepaint rubbed away. "Look how beautiful and accomplished you've become. You look so much like your grandmother, I would have known it was you."

He twisted around suddenly and both of them looked to the hole in the wall where a wounded Kara and a hulking, monstrous figure with a white hide were stumbling in.

"Relax, she's a friend," Alex reassured Jeremiah and watched Kara's whole face light up with deep relief at seeing the two of them.

"Alex, Jeremiah. I got this, M'gann, thank you for the help."

The White Martian spoke urgently in her own tongue, gesturing the way she had come and Kara nodded. With an incredible leap, she was gone in a flash back into the warren of tunnels.

"Both of you," Jeremiah breathed out like a man who had not taken a deep breath in a long, long time. Kara dropped to her knees and leaned in so that she too could feel the living warmth of them against her skin. Jeremiah just cupped their skulls, gently cradling them to his, and breathed them in for long moments. Pulling back just a bit, he pressed a long kiss to his daughter's forehead, did the same quickly to Kara, hating what he had to do.

"You have to go, don't you?" Alex would never know where the calm came from, but she knew she was right, even before the twin expressions of surprise changed into an agony of mixed feelings.

"I… Cadmus did a lot of the same things to me that they did to him," Jeremiah said haltingly, tilting his head at Henshaw's corpse. "Things get so… muddy in my head sometimes. I have no idea if I can be safe around people any longer. And if I don't keep trying to take Cadmus down, all this time I've lost with you will be a waste."

Sobbing, Alex clung to him, soaked up the still-familiar feel of him, no matter the time that had passed. "I miss you. I'll always miss you. But I understand, somehow."

"I'll always miss you too," Jeremiah whispered back, hugged his grown child close before gently pressing her wounded body to be cradled by her otherworldly sister. "You'll be okay?"

Amazingly, Alex found a melancholy smile through her pain. "Oddly? Yeah, I think I might be. Someone I fell for taught me something about defying expectations."

For a moment, Jeremiah couldn't move, paralyzed with all that he had missed, all that he didn't know about the sort of person his Alex had become. But the clarity of feelings in the dark, rich eyes she had inherited from him were open and warm. "I'm so proud of you, Alex," he whispered and pressed a last kiss to her forehead, stroked over her disheveled hair. "Both of you. Take care of each other. I love you."

And once more, it was the sisters, just the two of them against the world. Alex turned her head into Kara's neck and wept softly, a catharsis of too many hours, days, years of pressure on her heart. Still flummoxed at what had just happened, Kara cradled Alex gently, mindful of injuries, and tried to breathe through more loss. 

Yet, they were together again, through it all.

It was enough.

\----

Lena had never felt so helpless. After hours of dead silence, the comms and body cameras had blazed to life to the hellish chaos. Screaming and death, anime monsters right from the Island of Doctor Moreau, headlamps swinging wildly in near-darkness…

Utterly hellish chaos.

Side by side, clinging to one another's hand, Lena and Winn listened silently at the fringes of the control room, stunned witness to the violence. Alex's camera blurred as something huge and hairy and disturbingly semi-humanlike except for that gaping maw of teeth burst onto her team. They retreated to let M'gann's bulky White Martian form battle it, found the cyborg menace Lena remembered all too well.

The camera swung around wildly to show glimpses of the battle between Henshaw and Kara, her comm in tandem to the action. Alex's shot missed and Lena whimpered and clung to her pal as she listened to her grunt and fight for air as Henshaw glowered hatefully up into her face and taunted her. Then she'd been slammed down and the agonized scream had shattered Lena's heart. 

The tech she shoved aside bleated in startled objection as she grabbed his mic and smashed the transmit button.

"Get up! Goddammit, Tiger, get up and fight!"

Her shout was a heart that could no longer function on its own, of a lover who had fallen hard and needed to return heartfelt words that had left a void behind.

"Lena…" Alex's voice slurred drunkenly, syllables on a sob of pain.

"Get up, Alex, you have to fight! You promised you would come home to me," she nearly yelled into the mic, desperate to reach across so very many miles. Horrified at the situation, her voice dropped to a harsh whisper, "you promised…"

The effort Alex made was agony to listen to, every movement tearing at her, the camera shifting as she struggled out of the powerpack and got her right hand tucked into her armored vest. In only a grainy black and white image through a low-light lens, details were hard to make out, but a few of those fingers didn't look quite right.

Oh her poor Tiger.

"Get up," she encouraged again, knowing that Alex had to save herself.

And she stood.

She managed to do what she had set out to do, eliminate the threat to so many, that hateful man and his terrifying glowing eye. She took another horrible blow and the sound cut out from her comm, only the camera shifting slightly to show that she was even alive.

Maggie had set up a perversely amusing monologue worthy of an action adventure movie, even as her own camera showed as much violence and her gasp of a cry indicated more horrific damage. J'onn was facing off with something that looked so much like a werewolf that it might be a movie.

But the screams were real.

Suddenly, a familiar voice carried through M'gann's comm, faint but distinct.

"I'm okay, just get this damn thing out of me. I don't even know when he stabbed me."

On the heels of that irritation, Kara yelled in pain. 

"Stop! Oh Rao that huts. Push it through, M'gann, there's a barb on it. That will do less damage that leaving the thing in place."

With a mournful noise, M'gann clearly did as ordered and Kara shrieked fiercely, making everyone in the control room jump in shock. 

One of the techs immediately keyed his mic, adding to the already crowded channels. "Supergirl, are you okay?"

"I'll live. No thanks to what I can only call a kryptonite harpoon. Your old boss is quite the sadist."

Someone choked on a nervous chuckle.

Alex's camera had clearly been shed with the helmet and they could only just see her at the edge of frame, half collapsing in clear agony beside another figure. And the damnest thing happened when he sat up, clearly wanting to embrace her and instead they rested close, foreheads touching. 

With a jolt, Lena realized who this was. When a limping Kara stumbled through the hole she'd left in the wall hanging from the grip of another monster and M'gann's comm channel carried her relieved voice. "Alex, Jeremiah. I got this, M'gann, thank you for the help."

In the silence of the camera's eye, the three huddled until Jeremiah gently shifted Alex's body to be cradled close to Kara's strength. Then he kissed Alex's forehead… and walked away.

Lena was stunned.

Alex clearly turned her body into Kara's gentle hold as best she could, the two of them huddled there like lost children.

Once, Lena had been an ordinary child. Once, there had been a woman, a mother who loved her, a ghost of memory that hovered at the edge of conscious perception, so many years later. 

That had been the last time she had felt unconditionally loved.

Until these two.

But like her ghost of love, she didn't quite believe it. Love had been a commodity, or worse, a weakness, for too long. She wasn't loved, she was bought and sold, traded like stocks on the market. She didn't understand love, she didn't think that she was capable of understanding that ephemeral concept. With trembling fingers, Lena reached out to touch the screen, as though she could reach across the distance between them and touch these two miracle people who had tripped into her life.

And suddenly… she could barely breathe.

Things had been very strange for too long. Since Cadmus and Isotope 454, since Kara turned out to be Supergirl and the DEO and Hawaii and… and…

Alex.

Alex and those three words, that confession that sounded so much like it came from the heart, even as Lena couldn't bring herself to believe it. Love was not part of her reality any longer, buried with the mother who bore her, frozen out by a replacement incapable of it, the final threads of it shredded by her brother's madness.

No, love was not for her. With a last caress over the grainy image of the Danvers sisters, Lena turned and walked away, back straight and head held high.

"So, I guess that's it then," she said with calm clarity as she paused for a moment beside Winn, her mind already far away. "Things can go back to normal. I'm just going to go."

Winn nodded distractedly as his expertise was needed. It would not be until much, much later that what she had said and how she had said it really registered.


	17. Curiouser and Curiouser

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Really, could this day get any weirder?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Combat brought out the cussing, huh? LOL!
> 
> Prepare to meet some new friends, and the noisy invasion of an old one!

The rhino-thing might be big and irritated, but it wasn't bulletproof. But Maggie knew she wasn't doing enough damage. She'd run out of ammo before she took it out. Unless it did something stupid like duck down to try to get a look at her.

Part of Maggie regretted the faint hint of intelligence in the small eye it peered at her with, but survival came first. Slamming the MP5 into full auto, she emptied the magazine and the beast reared away with a roar of agony.

"Ha!" she yelled, a little delirious from pain and fear. "Suck that, ugly!"

As though in response, it bellowed and charged the truck to ram it. Maggie wasn't completely certain, but the huge vehicle might have skittered just a bit.

"Oh for fuck sake, are you kidding me?"

It had tracked blood all over, its hide a patchwork of little holes leaking, but it just wasn't enough. And she was pretty sure she was leaking too, her torso wet and burning. On top of it all, she was nearly out of ammo.

Then the damnest thing happened.

There was a yowl of noise, higher and sharper like a cougar out in the woods; a noise Maggie had actually heard in her childhood days in rural Nebraska. In a flurry of slender limbs, something human-shaped raced across the concrete and leapt at the rhino. Human-shaped except for being pure snow white and bearing a long slender tail.

Really, could this day get any weirder?

Maggie could only watch as the white stranger moved like a cat, often on all fours, tormenting the far larger creature away from the truck. It was utterly surreal.

She, for the pale figure was distinctly female shaped, scampered around the lumbering rhino-thing, leaping at it to claw and then push off from the gray hide. And the bigger creature was getting pissed off and sloppy. With blood streaking it, one eye a ruin from Maggie's gunfire, the bigger creature was on the bad end of the fight despite its size.

Then there was a sudden rattle of sound that grew to a cacophony as an avalanche of crates and superstructure rained down from above. With all the uncaring violence of an act of god, the debris buried both creature-people with a rumbling crash that made the concrete floor vibrate like a drum head.

Maggie coughed weakly and blinked her eyes as the cloud of dust blew past until she could see the massive pile of wreckage where the nightmare rhino creature had stood. Like badly spliced film, suddenly the ghost cat, person, thingie, just appeared in a crouch on the dusty pile… 

Except… there were two of them. They were clearly pleased with themselves, high-fiving before looking over to the truck.

"I've finally lost it. That's it, you have reached Maggie's brain, she's not available for sane comment right now. Leave a message at the groan."

When one of the ghosts ducked down to peer under the truck, she did her best to bring the gun up, but paused in pulling the trigger. The ghost had her hands up in the universal sign of 'I mean you no harm' while the second one hung back. They were wary, but not threatening, which made sense giving the guns Maggie bore.

Then the close one hunkered down lower in a display of fluidity that would make a Chinese gymnast envious, and trilled a questioning note at Maggie. 

"You sound like a cat," she heard herself say, and giggled at the 'so-so' hand waggle the ghost made, her lean face wreathing into a smile. Then she dramatically cleared her throat and made a perfect purr-meow.

Maggie's laugh became a groan as her wounded body was jostled. The cat-woman wanted to move closer, that much was clear, but gestured at the gun, though it was barely a threat, hanging loosely from Maggie's hand.

"Oh, right, the gun. Take it. Thing's empty anyway. Just, maybe not kill me, yeah?"

There was no mistaking that rolling purr sounded distinctly like a chuckle. 

\----

"There's still trouble out there," Kara said reluctantly and stood, effortlessly bringing Alex's weight up with her. "Your hand?"

"Will wait. Though, there's a transdermal patch in my belt that will take the edge off. The yellow one."

Finding it, Kara quickly swabbed the antiseptic pad in the packaging over the curve of her sister's neck above her collar and paused for a moment to let the alcohol base evaporate before pressing the sticky-backed yellow square to her skin.

"Over there is a good vantage point," Kara noted with a nod and bent down to grab the EMPOS before tucking Alex into her side. Once she had her settled, Kara zipped away to return with Susan's deadweight cradled gently in her arms to lay out at Alex's side. "She's bled quite a lot, but it seems to have pretty much stopped now." Pulling loose Susan's radio pack, she set it in Alex's lap and pressed their foreheads together. "Please be safe."

Alex didn't even get a chance to reply as Kara blurred away.

"You too," she whispered into the lonely quiet.

Everything was a jumble in her head, a patchwork of sound and sensation in her head. She could find no place to even think about processing and fell back to the mundane of a manageable task. Moving painfully, Alex managed to pull out her own radio pack before reaching across her body to jerk the earwig loose. 

Unfortunately, despite all indications that Susan's radio was working, the earwig remained silent when plugged in. With Susan sprawled unconscious on her damaged right side, Alex was going to have to seriously steel herself to move enough to get the earwig she could see at her friend's ear.

A brush of sound made her stomach turn to ice water.

Just a little scuff of noise, maybe a light step in debris, a quick, small breath, a hand brushing broken concrete… Eyes pinned to the smashed hole in the wall, Alex slowly reached for the business end of the EMPOS… and froze in surprise.

A little face peered around the edge of the broken space, made a tiny sound of animal distress, ducked away, appeared again. A sweet, narrow little face and a poof of dark hair that caught at the faint light with silvery flashes. A small hand looked vulnerable against the harsh, ruined concrete.

Was that a… kid?

Clearly Alex had lost it and she bemusedly watched as the little figure crept into the room nearly on all fours, crouching low to the ground. Even through the cluttered field of battle, she was nearly silent, skinny little limbs more limber than any Human could manage, a brush tail held straight and twitchy, the white tuft at the tip a flag in the dimness. She was a cute little thing-- Alex was fairly certain this was a little girl-- and looked to be no more than maybe five years old.

Yup, definitely lost it.

A spasm of pain made Alex groan a wisp of sound and the child was off like a shot the way she had come. Alex had known to expect some horrors in this pit, but this little kid twigged off a hurt in her chest. An unknown alien? Another experiment like the killer horrors already seen? Neither fit her quick impression, because if that hadn't been a fox tail, Alex would eat her busted comm unit. She felt like she was trapped in an HG Wells book crossed with a horror videogame. 

"Hey, it's okay," she said quietly, resting her left hand on the gun just in case. "I'm Alex. There's some scary stuff out there if you'd like to come in here and sit with me. Just to not be alone."

Part of Alex was surprised to hear herself say it, but the oppressive, fearful quiet of the space had unnerved her. She could hear it in her voice, no matter that she was striving for calm for the girl's sake. Besides, she still wasn't completely convinced she wasn't hallucinating.

Again, the child peered around the edge of the broken wall, eyes huge in her face. After a moment she looked down the hallway before skulking closer, scenting at the air like a cat. As she drew closer, Alex could see that she had a sweet, narrow face and large yellow-gold eyes. The simple tunic and shortpants were dusty and could probably use a good laundering, but made her seem pretty normal except for that tail.

"Hey, you're a cute little bug."

Tilting her head, the child listened to the soft words and voiced a little animal trill of sound, curious and wary. She sidled over to the side, small feet nearly treading the edges of Susan's heavy black clothing. That nose was scenting the air again and the gold eyes went from Alex's eyes to her tucked in right arm and back up, the sweet little face very serious.

"Broken fingers. I'll live."

Satisfied, the child nodded and Alex was utterly bemused. Crouching, the kid sniffed at Susan, zeroing in on her damaged left side. Part of her felt like she should put up some token resistance to the kid rifling Susan's unconscious body, but she still wasn't convinced she wasn't having some pain-induced hallucination. From the pockets of the shredded tac vest came transdermal patches and a few scraps of first-aid materials. The roll of mints made Alex chuff with soft amusement.

"How very Susan. Use the red one. Wait, let's be safe and go with orange instead."

Bemused all over again, Alex watched the girl exactly mimic Kara's earlier ministrations with the orange patch. Hopefully the painkillers and mild antibiotics in the sticky gel that seeped through her skin would bring some relief. Then the kid found the nasty black blade tucked in Susan's boot and had her sleeves hacked off before Alex could stop blinking in shock. In very short order, the sleeves had been slit to rough bandages, wound gently around the lacerated arm. Those nimble little fingers figured out the velcro panels on the armor and pulled them loose so that she could hike up Susan's shirt and check her side. With a satisfied nod, the kid carefully reset the armor exactly as it had been.

"Need a job?" Alex teased softly and the child quirked a faint smile and padded back over to crouch on the other side of the EMPOS. She was clearly curious about the device, as well as the stranger. Unwilling to hand over the Big Gun, Alex instead lay her hand on the concrete, palm up, fingers curled loosely. It was a weary invitation, but the child seemed to understand as she made another of those little bird sounds in lieu of words.

Still mostly convinced her rattled brain was making all of this up and she was going to wake up any minute now, Alex passively watched the little hand reach out to pinch her index finger.

And Alex felt it.

\----

No, Lucy wasn't part of the operation out in Palmdale. She technically wasn't even supposed to be listening in, getting more and more agitated as things went sideways. When she finally exploded into action, none of the techs were surprised. They were relieved to have her hair-trigger energy off their backs as she stormed through the control room.

"Jackson! Dajili! Grab your teams and suit up to rock and roll. We have some allies to pull out of the fire!"

In twenty minutes flat, an additional baker's dozen of DEO personnel raced across the sand in fleet armored vehicles and Lucy was deep in an argument that she relished. "Yes, Director J'onnz, I'm quite aware that I'm breaking protocol and that you did not want me involved in this raid due to my personal feelings. I'm also quite aware that you know I don't give a fuck. You have people scattered and down all over that shithole and I'm bringing reinforcements and additional medical supplies and personnel. I look forward to the chewing out, so don't get yourself killed."

She loved the promotion to being in full command of the desert base, even if living like a mole sucked, but she was alight with gleeful energy to be charging into danger. She had some issues that could use some violent resolving.

"Control, who can we help? I need a target."

"Uhh," some tech hedged, but swallowed hard and decided it was better to beg for forgiveness later from his boss. "Detective Sawyer is down somewhere in a storage area no one has been able to find from the inside. But I think I have the exterior access point pinned down due to the changes in air pressures and temperatures from the activity in the tunnels."

"The one who's been providing the Parks and Rec running commentary? Sold. Buckle up, folks! We're up!"

Ten miles of desert vanished quickly, even having to skirt several ravines by veering off to bridges where they doubtlessly startled and confused the civilians. The façade of an old mechanic shop collapsed like paper with a running charge from the armored prow and her teams made quick work of unlocking a drop-away floor so they could roar down a large, dark tunnel.

"I can't believe all this shit is here," Grady breathed and Lucy snorted with barely checked rage.

Her father had been a part of this. Her father. Just knowing that made her so angry she wanted to tear something apart with her bared teeth.

A gigantic armored door looming in the headlights was both welcome and an irritant that kept them from charging in like the cavalry. It took too long and made too much noise, grinding Lucy's nerves and teeth, but at least the mystery detective's drunken-sounding ramblings were amusing.

"Ladies and gentledykes! Today on 'The Feared Dead' we join our furry ghosts and a pig in a pickle. Can we give her a big hand, folks? Because she ain't doin' it herself!"

There was an abrupt, tense silence that caught Lucy's ear. She really wished someone could communicate with the detective. It had to be terrifying, alone and wounded with god knows what creeping around in the dark.

"What was that? Oh good, and we're back to the growling. Fantastic. So much for being too cute to die. I thought the 'kill your gays' trope was so last year…"

She sounded almost blasé about the whole thing, but her breathing was harsh and labored and she groaned in clear pain off and on. Lucy had already locked her comm channel onto the fallen cop to reduce the background chatter and avoid an understandably pissed J'onn.

Right now she just needed to do something, not sit this one out. Her own blood had been part of this and it burned her on a visceral level.

The door clunked and the lead car shuddered as it banged the seam to batter it open.

"… the hell?" Sawyer muttered into the comms in response to a tinny echo of their noisy efforts. "Now what?"


	18. New Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In two groups of six, the agents moved with reasonably military-like efficiency, the formation bristling with gun barrels. A sudden raspy shriek far too close by made everyone freeze, barrels swinging wildly when something above them roared loudly. It banged along the edge of the dimmed lights, moving across the tall racks of supplies. Whatever it was, it was big… and fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more banter and set up here, folks, but we'll get back to poor Lena next chapter, I promise! Just remember that the last handful of chapters have taken place over just a handful of hours.

"Holy shit," Dajili muttered at the sheer quantity of crap stacked up in the cavernous room. "How did they even dig this in the damn desert?"

While that set off a brief discussion of geology and earthmoving techniques, Lucy quickly realized that there was no discernable way to get the vehicles more than a few hundred feet into the room. There was a huge pile of debris that looked remarkably fresh.

And something moved in the gloom.

"Shut it," she barked and they all instantly fell silent. "Medical, stay put, full alert. The rest of you fall out. There's something out there."

Once they were out and had swept the immediate area, the team looked at Lucy like she was insane when she ordered them to close the big door they had just come through.

"Guys, you've been listening to the chatter. Whatever the hell is down here needs to stay down here. The public safety is our responsibility."

It took the bulk of the team and way too much noise, but the huge doors were shut and Lucy had the medicos back one of the cars right up against the seam.

"Whatever you do, stay together. Move out."

In two groups of six, the agents moved with reasonably military-like efficiency, the formation bristling with gun barrels. A sudden raspy shriek far too close by made everyone freeze, barrels swinging wildly when something above them roared loudly. It banged along the edge of the dimmed lights, moving across the tall racks of supplies. Whatever it was, it was big… and fast.

"So help me," Sawyer muttered over the comms, clearly still unaware of the new strike teams, "if that's a T-Rex…"

Someone behind Lucy choked on something that might have been perverse amusement.

"Steady," Lucy soothed, her heart pounding wildly in terror, but she refused to show it. "Move in. Slowly. Maybe whatever they are, they'll kill each other."

It sounded plausible with the racket coming out of the gloom. Shapes shifted around and the two squads ensured they were moving carefully, covering all angles. Down one of the aisles between racks was some scaled horror whose odd shape was nothing of this planet. With hand gestures and a tap of Lucy's fingers, Martinez had the grenade launcher up and there was no hesitation to pump several into the thing. Falling back in a hurry, the teams took cover as best they could as the monster shrieked and thrashed. An oversized maw and a trio of small red eyes made it around the edge of the stacks before there was a thunderous explosion. 

"That was… unexpected," came Maggie's voice, soft over the comm. "Is someone here? God, I want to yell."

The squads were getting to their feet, half of them prickled with shrapnel, but nothing immediately life-threatening. After a few moments, the ringing silence reassured them and Lucy shook herself out. "I'm sticking to board games from now on, thanks. All this DnD, videogame bullshit is starting to piss me off. When did I become an extra in Starship Troopers?"

The stab at dark humor worked, some of the tension bleeding out of the group and they once more moved out, albeit with some limping involved. 

It was a hell of stronghold and too much of the hardware was mil-spec, some of it notably new-looking. It was just more disturbing proof of how big and well established Cadmus really was. Shutting this facility down was only a dent. But hopefully a dent that hurt.

"I keep expecting to see a raptor come around the corner," Dajili muttered direly and enough of the others muttered nervous agreement to annoy Lucy. Half the squad nearly jumped clean out of their skins when she discretely crouched to tap her ceramic blade in a staccato rhythm against the floor.

They pretty much all stared at her, aghast, as the fear-induced shock ebbed and she glowered up at them. "Hey, if you morons are going to give yourselves the jump-scares, you get no sympathy from me."

Chastised, they settled down again into the professionals they were. Close by was a fleet of vehicles from small and fast to enormous and ponderous, all of them armored. 

"Looks like the backlot of a war movie."

Lucy glared, but couldn't figure out exactly who had said it. "Well now that our cover's blown," she growled and raised her voice, just slightly. "Sawyer?"

"Hey, troop of boots, to your left. I think."

With a few more rounds of Marco Polo, Lucy knelt beside a vast armored transport to peer beneath.

"Well hi there, Detective Deathwish. I'm Director Hotness of the DEO."

The splutter of laughter from the shadows by the front axle was reassuring, though the low growling was disconcerting.

"Are your ghosts pissed off?" she asked dryly and was completely amused that the growling stopped. Martinez knelt beside Lucy even as she sat to wiggle her butt under the truck. "I'm assuming they're not the next contestants on, 'Who Wants To Kill You Now'."

Once under the truck, Lucy could finally see her quarry, the curl of smile barely visible in the dimness. Beside her crouched a pair of white-furred people in simple tunics and long shorts, long ears pinned back like an angry cat and prehensile tails dancing agitatedly. 

"No, Director Hotness, they could have killed me easily if they'd wanted to."

"Lucy Lane." Lucy rattled off abruptly before looking back up at the twins "Good, if they're allies then they can help. What are your injuries?"

"My left leg and ribs."

With a scrape of sound, Martinez slid the scoop board under the truck and let Jackson wiggle under, since he was smaller. The ghosts didn't like him at all, growling more. Even as she replied, Lucy was positioning the two halves of the polyethylene board around Maggie. "Can it, Fuzzies. No one is going to hurt you since you didn't hurt one of ours, but she needs medical attention."

Even in the crappy light, there was no missing the startled looks on the so very Human faces of the twin ghosts. One made a chirruping noise at the other and they both very clearly chuckled as they calmed. The reaction spoke clearly of understanding and intelligence, despite the lack of words, and Lucy filed that away in her mind. Everyone flinched when Lucy clicked on her flashlight to get a better look at the injuries, but also the white-furred strangers.

"This is a really dangerous game show you have here, Detective 'To Cute To Die'."

"Pfft, tell my exes that."

Grinning, Lucy shifted the bright beam from the broken leg to Maggie's squinting face. "Hey, I think I figured out who you are, Dimples. You're Badass Danvers' pal aren't you? You look like a good time."

"You don't know the half of it."

"I don't know about your exes but your charm should make up for some of these suicidal tendencies."

Lucy timed the flirtatious sass to elicit a breathless laugh that became a strangled cry of pain as she gently grabbed a handful of pant leg to hoist up just a bit so Jackson could close the open scoop board. Like a pair of long spatulas welded to a sturdy frame, the board's two halves slid beneath Maggie's body for even support with a bare minimum of movement, the frame locking shut to become a stable spine board. 

"You smell nice, and you're kind of a bitch, but like you're hot," Maggie flirted breathlessly, swallowing down the pain. She sounded like the tail end of a rave, drunk with agony and some blood loss by the smear on the pavement.

"Only kind of a bitch?" Lucy sassed dryly as she and Jackson snapped the four straps around torso and knees. "well fuck that, I'm going to have to up my game."

"You better be as hot as you say, Director Hotness, or I'm going to kick your ass."

Both Lucy and Jackson chuckled as they began dragging the backboard from under the truck. "It's a promise. Not that I think you're going to remember a word of this. Now coax out your giant terror-bunny pals and let's get you to the medics."

\----

It was not the first time Alex had found herself hurt and alone in a terrifying situation. Nor would it be last time, the way her life went.

But the regrets had certainly changed. 

Lena's shocked, hurting expression was something she would never regret. She did not regret the words, the terrifying confession that settled something lonely and adrift in her, but she did regret alarming Lena.

Did Lena regret it? The impulsive confession of love had certainly caught her completely flat-footed.

The more Alex dwelt on it, the more she worried.

Sighing, she went to rub her face, groaning at the reminder of pain from the right. Luckily, there was a distraction in the form of her completely unfathomable companion.

"You're way nicer than the rest of the…" Alex paused to come up with a word. "Errr, unusual prisoners in here. And you're smart too."

Where she was poking at Susan's banged up comm unit, the black-haired child looked up with a chirp, her head cocked thoughtfully. It was clear she understood every word, but couldn't respond with words. The bioengineer in Alex was dying to know why. There were so many questions about these animal-people loose in the Cadmus base, she wouldn't even know where to start.

"You need a name," Alex mused drowsily. She felt like hell and wanted nothing more than to slump over and sleep. Which was not going to happen. "Everyone needs a name."

With mumbling little animal sounds, the kid left off her fiddling and stepped around the wounded agents to once more crouch at Alex's unbroken hand. With quick little hands, she stripped off the black glove, pausing to stroke the clean palm beneath. Swallowing down the ticklish reaction, Alex watched in fascination. Then the kid focused again, wielding a left index finger tipped with a thick fingernail that was almost a blunt claw. 

Not picking up on what the kid was doing, Alex missed the input the first time. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention, do it again."

With a bit of an exasperated look that earned an amused grin, the kid once again carefully traced out… numbers.

"Two six?" Alex verbalized with bafflement and got a huff and that nail underlining both numbers. "Oh, twenty-six?"

No matter her mysterious origins, the child had a beautiful smile she beamed at Alex. Helplessly charmed by her, Alex beamed back, then went confused.

"Wait, that's your name? Twenty-six?"

Nodding rapidly, she whistled and leaned closer, fingering her hair away from her right ear. In the gloom, it took a moment for Alex to realize what the smudge there was. It was a very clear '26' in block numbers and beneath it… a barcode. 

Something in Alex's gut went cold.

A lab animal. This sweet, odd kid had been nothing more than a lab animal, tattooed like a dumb beast in utter disregard to the clearly intelligent and kind soul she was. The protective rush of feeling both surprised Alex and yet felt completely right. Her soft smile chased away the trepidation that had been making the little body shrink away, perking her right up.

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you, uh, Twenty-six. I'm Alex."

Clearly happy, Twenty-six shuffled closer, still holding Alex's much larger hand in her right, gesturing with the clearly dominant left. Between the 'gimmie' gesture and the inquiring cat-trill, Alex clearly got the point and her huff of warm amusement was low and soft.

"Alex Danvers."

The child was thrilled, her whole body broadcasting it, utterly charming the stranger she had found in the wreckage. Cradling the larger hand in hers, Twenty-six leaned in to sniff closely, startling when Alex curled her fingers to touch a cheek.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. May I touch?"

Confused, but clearly eager, she nodded and pressed into Alex's hand like a cat. Her cheek was soft and warm, her hair silky and with a strange almost wiry texture. More like fur than hair, Alex realized after a moment. Petting over the curve of round skull, she returned her kind touch to Twenty-six's face, coaxing her chin up.

"Definitely a cute little bug."

Again, the child seemed puzzled and Alex chuckled fondly.

"My father called me that when I was little like you. I'd climb all over him and he'd laugh and call me a 'cute little bug'. Do you like that?"

In truth, the lonely child looked desperate for the spark of connection Alex had offered, nearly shaking with it.

"Can I call you Bug? So you can have your very own name?"

The nod was so eager it almost disguised the tears in her golden eyes.

The two new friends sat for some time, Bug's little hands cradling Alex's, content with that touch and the loaded quiet between them. Eventually though, the kid's head shot up, her attention riveted towards the tunnel outside. Growling softly, she scooted to Alex's side, who automatically curled her hand around the EMPOS gun.

In a blue of red and blue, Kara appeared. "Alex?"

"Oh thank god," Alex breathed and set down the gun to lay a reassuring hand on Bug's foot. "It's okay, she's a friend."

Baffled by the incongruous sight of a small child crouched beside Alex like an angry housecat, Kara nonetheless stayed on track and strode over to join them. She paused-- visibly wanting to touch Alex to reassure them both-- before crouching beside Susan. It spoke volumes that Alex didn't even noticed the neon orange board in her hands until it was set down.

"How did we do?"

Alex hated to ask, but she needed to know, though Kara's flinch wasn't as bad as it could have been.

"It could have been much worse, but five won't be going home and two more are touch and go. I've already gotten them to a trauma center."

The familiar swirl of relief and agony swirled in Alex's heart, the punch of losing her own never losing its power.

"Hey, Kara, c'mere."

Swallowing hard in distress, Kara hesitated before hovering to press her head to Alex. They had survived once again.


	19. A Hard Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But Supergirl hesitated, her body language anything but threatening, even as Lena picked up on Jess' shock and woozily jumped to her feet. Light as a leaf, Kara came to rest on the balcony, carefully pushing open the glass door, her exhaustion and worry a palpable thing. When she did speak, her voice was raw and strained as though she too, had been wracked with tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, we return to Lena! It has been a long time coming. But first…

The Cadmus base became a hive of activity. The DEO was as discrete as possible, but the sheer size of the place meant that it was a ridiculous task. So much so that they were forced to petition help from the FBI and even the local police.

Many an agent paused to watch Supergirl haul up her grisly prize of Hank Henshaw's corpse onto a crate where she gathered herself to breathe cracking winter onto his already cold meat and machine.

Only then did a very specific tension ease in the crowd.

Even in the midst of the chaos and misery, there were high points. One, was that the Danvers sisters were still their stubborn, amazing selves and were all over the place to ensure that everything went as smoothly as possible. Two, was Alex's cute little pal who would not be pried from her side despite being wide-eyed with alarm.

Teams had quickly found the sub-facility where the animal-people had been housed. Enormous cells tailored to creatures they'd fought were the origins of the zoo-like stink, their doors bashed open from the inside. An examination revealed that, in addition to physical locks, there were sophisticated electronic ones, assumedly disabled with the first attack from the EMPOS gun.

In a second room, was a more sophisticated facility, full of testing equipment and laboratory gear. In an adjacent room were two cells, stark and clean and littered with things to climb and rugged toys and platforms at several heights. It looked too much like a zoo exhibit for primates.

It was clearly where Bug and the ghostly twins had lived out their lives until this point.

Gates led to other rooms, a bathroom facility and what seemed like a teaching room, as well as a sprawling arena full of interactive props reminiscent of circus animal training. It was unnerving to see, even through a camera lens, and Alex felt her stomach and heart twist when one of her agents found an armored case full of brutal gear that looked like it was meant to beat down… well, a room full of monsters.

Who had done this? And why? Was it simply some perverse, twisted god complex? Or had there been some sort of plan unfathomable to the outside observers now picking over the scraps left behind. Alex was uncomfortably reminded of Bizzaro, that poor photocopy of Kara, who in the end, had been all too aware of her circumstances.

Teams hunted down the last few monsters and dispatched them, nearly losing several more of their numbers to the fast and vicious octopus until Kara managed to finally stop its thrashing. All the bodies were gathered to be catalogued and studied and disposed of, a morbid scientific smorgasbord. The inventory of supplies and hardware was impressive and would, ironically, serve the DEO well when they turned it all on the original owners.

And the grueling hours passed.

\----

It had been more than twenty-four hours since they'd raided the place and Alex had virtually tuned out her broken hand. Running on stress and adrenaline, she'd managed to duck the medical teams at every turn, more because there was just so damn much to do than out of sheer cussedness. Or so she kept telling herself. There was plenty of walking wounded still in the effort and she would not be the weak link.

Still, the others were getting concerned.

Ironically, it wasn't Kara that finally called her out, but her old pal and adversary, Lucy.

"Goddammit Danvers!" Lucy roared over the comm as she returned to the op site after spending most of the day at her actual post. Unsurprisingly, she didn't bother to keep the bawling out private, her voice blasting desperately needed comic relief over the main radio channel. "Do I have to hold your stupid hand on the next dust up to get you to bring your stupid, sorry carcass back in one piece?"

"Lucy," she heard both sisters breathe over the comms with guileless relief and she was completely warmed by the reaction. Then Kara added in excitedly, "you're the one that saved Maggie! I should have known it when she said you smell nice. You always smell nice."

Lucy couldn't stop the delighted chuckle, even as she moved through the crowd with her new sidekicks on her heels. "A bunch of anime monsters weren't going to keep me away, promotion or no."

"You wanted to be in charge, sassy tiny!" Alex teased warmly and Lucy could easily picture the smile.

"Yeah, well next time I'm going to have your idiot sidekick put a bell on you. That's the least I own J'onn and Supergirl. So thanks for playing our latest round of 'Who Wants To Kill You Now!' The bear was a nice touch, and yes, Vas will be the next one to get yelled at. I can't wait to hear the whole story, though good luck beating Sawyer's rhino or the very confused ghosts."

"What's my prize?"

"Me, not beating your ass once you heal up!"

It was at that point the friends finally found one another in the crowd in the vehicle hanger. Lighting up in delighted relief, they were forced to gentle reassurances instead of the tight hugs, but it was enough.

"Fuck off, Lane," Alex sassed gratefully as she leaned against Lucy for a long moment, grateful for her presence. "God, I'm glad to see you."

Abruptly, Bug made a wordless sound of excitement and Alex gawked openly at the pair of tall, whipcord lean women cloaked in a peachfuzz of albino fur that was thicker in strategic spots, notably the prehensile tails that weaved and waved with what seemed like their own intent.

Shaking off her shock, Alex cupped a hand around Bug's neck and smiled warmly at her. "Go see them, sweetie. I'll be right here, I promise."

Reluctantly, Bug left off her clinging to Alex's leg and bolted to the ghostly twins. They were clearly happy to see one another, sharing hugs and sniffing each other's faces. That let Lucy gesture to someone and get into Alex's personal space. "Now you need to park your sorry ass and let the medicos look you over."

"But--"

"That's a direct order, Agent Obstinate. You've been ducking them all day."

Grumbling, Alex did as ordered, gasping an entirely animal whine of agony as they undid the kevlar vest. The pain that had dulled since the injury flared up like being struck with a heavy rod of white-hot metal. Immediately, Lucy shifted in tandem with the medicos to grab the comm unit while they tended to injuries. Alex did her best to just breathe as they did a cursory exam before pulling out several syringes.

"Wait, wait! Let me talk to the kid first."

Bug had randomly annoyed the techs all day by stealing some of their micro tools. It became clear that she was no thief, but a clever little fox, plying at the collar of the slightly taller ghost. With a triumphant sound, the child yanked the collar off, throwing it violently to the ground where the other twin jumped on it.

"Oh, thank goodness for that," the newly-freed ghost sighed in a smooth, alto voice, clear as day, and everyone in earshot froze to stare in shock. "Neural controllers," she explained calmly and glared coldly at the broken collar. "You'll find versions on all of the Mutates. Ours are different from the others as we three are the only of the experiments to produce true intelligence."

Even her body language had changed, her posture more erect, her nerves calmer, gaze clearer. For all the weirdness the DEO agents were accustomed to, they were all fairly rattled by this new experience and it took some uncomfortable moments for anyone to react. Unsurprisingly, it was Alex.

"Are you what you appear to be? Or was there alien tech or DNA involved?"

"Animal-human hybrids? Yes. Metahuman specifically, as that rarer DNA is already in the process of change, it lent itself to these experiments. My twin and I are teleporters and the child is unusually intelligent. There is definitely some sort of alien connection in our creation, but we've never been able to figure out what."

She was wary, trying to trust, but understandably wanting to bolt. That spoke to Alex and she held the albino-ruby eyes that had been revealed with the return of the base's lights.

"You'll need to submit yourselves to custody for now, for your safety as much as anything. We'll take care of you, and if we work together, there should be no need for cages."

It didn't completely ease the taller twin, but she nodded before crouching to set Bug on her feet and purred quietly at her. "Go on to your friend, child. We'll wait here." Standing once more, she bumped heads with her double, rumbling a cougar-like purr to ease the nervous tension the observers now realized was over-fueled by the neural controllers. 

Then medics were gently getting Alex settled onto a stretcher and she was choking down the pain, but happy to see Bug. Stroking over the dark hair, she cupped her chin and studied the gold eyes. "Listen, I have to go to the hospital and you can't come." Watching the little face fall was heartbreaking. "But once they patch me up, we can see each other again, okay? I promise. Until then, you stay with my friend Lucy there. She'll take care of you."

Lucy stepped over and nodded at the child and Alex. "Like she's one of my own, you have my word."

"Come on then, agent," one of the medics urged as he started chopping away her left sleeve to jab her three times in quick succession.

"Be good," Alex muttered as her hand fell away from Bug's and the child made a mournful sound, pressing to the larger Mutates when they stepped in close. "See ya soon…"

Lucy sighed heavily, but was distracted when the freed twin spoke up again. "She seems the kind sort. Will Maggie be all right?"

Tiny and fearless, Lucy looked up calmly into the strange woman's face. "Maggie will be fine. I haven't heard word, but her injuries weren't life threatening. I appreciate you asking."

"We… befriended her first. Though you seem like a likely candidate as well."

Lucy's grin was a warm one. Maybe some good would come from Cadmus' legacy after all.

\----

There was no getting around it. Jess was just plain worried.

She had come in Monday morning, expecting a nice, normal weekday. Well, as normal as things had been lately at L-Corp. Pushing into the CEO office that had lain empty for three weeks, she'd actually let loose a little scream of shock. That startled awake the familiar figure slumped at the sculptural desk. 

"Lena…"

It was likely the first time Jess had ever been so familiar with her boss, but she couldn't stop it. The woman looked like hell, eyes hazy and bruised-looking with exhaustion, her hair a disheveled, lazy bun that was falling loose… and what was she wearing? The rusty-red sweater with its black sleeves was nice enough, even if it clearly didn't fit quite right, but were those pajama pants and bargain basement canvas shoes?

"Did you get mugged?"

The tentative question completely derailed the barely-awake Lena and she intelligently said, "huh?"

"Those aren't your clothes."

Whatever Jess expected, that strangled noise of pain was decidedly not it. Tears welled up in Lena's bloodshot eyes, the latest in what was clearly a long night of crying, Jess realized with a jolt.

Things had been weird around this office ever since that cyborg had attacked, but they'd gotten even stranger with that phone call from the nice Agent Danvers and Supergirl had shown up at her window the Sunday after Thanksgiving…

Then, almost a week ago, after near radio-silence for two weeks, Lena had suddenly contacted her in a complete babble about the attack on the building. Dutifully, Jess found the scraps of information she was looking for and handed it off when Agent Vasquez arrived.

Now, Jess did not consider herself a particularly curious person, an asset in an executive assistant, frankly. Her job was to be intuitive, efficient and patient, traits she had in abundance. But working for the black sheep of the Luthor family had been a fascinating ride, and the most recent chapters of the tale had left her decisively curious. How could she not be?

Lena had been staring blankly at her for what was becoming an uncomfortable length of time. Frankly, she looked completely unnerved, and possibly not entirely certain where she even was. Had she snapped like… Jess internally cursed herself for the disloyal thought she couldn't quite repress.

Had she snapped like her brother?

As though conjured up by the thought, Supergirl suddenly swooped into sight to hover just beyond the balcony and Jess, for the life of her, could not stop the jolt of shock. She didn't want a repeat of family history, dammit! She liked her boss! Could see the good in her, the softness that shone through when she wasn't suffocated by the name that lay on her like heavy armor.

But Supergirl hesitated, her body language anything but threatening, even as Lena picked up on Jess' shock and woozily jumped to her feet. Light as a leaf, Kara came to rest on the balcony, carefully pushing open the glass door, her exhaustion and worry a palpable thing. When she did speak, her voice was raw and strained as though she too, had been wracked with tears. 

"Lena, Agent Dan-- oh screw this. Alex needs you, Lena, and you need her. The dummy would be here herself if she weren't recovering from surgery."

In profile, Jess watched Lena's expression go from slack shock to enraged glower. It was rather terrifying, but Supergirl never so much as flinched, her body language remaining open and gentle.

"She can't do that! Say that and run off! She can't!" Lena raged, her voice choked as though the words were physical things she had to disgorge. Clearly pained for her friend, Kara tried to step in closer, but hesitated when Lena flinched away almost violently. Her breathing was ragged and her green eyes wild, like a trapped animal. 

"Lena, she knows that. She's a mess, just like you are. I stayed long enough to get the rough story out of her and then rushed straight here."

Still panicked, Lena ranted, "people don't love me! They want things from me, want to manipulate me, but love?" Her sneer was a teeth-bared snarl. "It's all a horrible sham!"

Jess was doing an excellent impression of deer in headlights, ever more startled as the woman she only knew as Supergirl stepped in to grasp Lena's upper arms, her expression sweet and intense. "Hey, that's not true. I love you, sure not like Alex does, but I do. And Winn does and the rest of the gang is pretty close. Did you really not understand that?"

Lena made a rough, rude noise and squirmed in the unbreakable hold. "Love isn't enough! It's never enough! It couldn't even make her father stay!" There was an abrupt shift in energy, rage draining away to abject horror, Lena staring wide-eyed at Kara. "No, I… I mean… I don't know what I mean. Ka--," she choked on the syllable, "how could I ever be enough?"

"Because she chose you," Kara replied kindly as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

"It's not enough!" Lena tried to deflect, her voice shaking, tears welling up and trickling down the salty tracks on her skin.

"Sure it is. Alex has a heart as big as the whole universe. Who knows that better than me?"

Flummoxed and shaken, Lena could only stare at her friend.

"Do you love her?"

The very quietness of the question lent it power and Lena squirmed again, terrified of the glory or agony that could be hers.

"It gets taken away!" she cried brokenly. "There's only expectation! Duty! She's only fun, only something to keep me from losing myself, only…"

"Lena," the gentleness broke through Lena's panic and she stared into those soft blue eyes with all the desperation of a drowning victim. "Lena, do you love her?"

For breathless moments, Kara honestly feared that Lena would turn away, shun what she wanted so badly, but then panic faded to wide-eyed hope.

"Yes!" she wailed and collapsed into the waiting hug. They had touched before, the friends, even hugged casually, but not like this. Lena clung to the body as strong as a star for dear life, wallowed in the warmth, the arms wrapped around her, Kara's head leaned against hers. There had never been enough loving physical contact for her needy soul and she reveled in it, drew strength.

"Then that's where we start," Kara soothed gently, rubbing Lena's back and arms to reassure her. Leaning back a bit to let their gazes connect again, she smiled with all of her sweetness and worry. "Come on, I'll take you to the hospital so that you can yell at her yourself." Scooping her friend up to be cuddled close, Kara smiled wanly at the flabbergasted Jess. "Think you can hold things together just a little bit longer?"

Still sobbing and shaking, Lena clung to Supergirl's neck and Jess processed everything she'd overheard at lightning speed. Intense and nice Agent Danvers-- Kara's older sister no less-- hadn't just been guarding her boss, but catching her heart as well. And it thankfully sounded mutual. A lot of things about the last couple months made more sense now. 

Nodding decisively, Jess settled back into her role as support and protection in this arena of business. "Yes, I'll be fine. Thank you for coming for her."

"She's as good as family now, Miss Castin. I promise you that I will care for her as such."


	20. Choose You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, Eliza was a scientist. But she was also a lover and a wife and a widow and a friend and, particularly in this case, a mother. She was not one for mystical mumbo-jumbo, but she had to admit it was difficult to tell where their energies diverged. Clearly her Alexandra had found an unexpected equal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special shout out to theillogicalthinker, who has been a boon to my creativity. A whole lot of Lucy and Maggie's hilarious banter came from our IMs, as well as some of the meatier dialog between the lovers.

Memory and sensation sparked along Alex's nerves, flash-bangs of wakefulness that made her twitch, draw in a deep breath, moan softly as her gray matter rebooted. There was so much swirling stimuli, a nightmare landscape that clawed at her self-control; saying goodbye to her father, the faces of Mutates friend and foe, the blue burn of Henshaw's deadly eye, the stink of death and terror…

Lena.

The spiral of drug-addled panic halted, broke up and faded as Alex latched onto that familiar scent like a lifeline. When she wearily blinked open her eyes, she was utterly confounded of the contrast of unfortunately familiar hospital room and Lena, laying against her left side, her hand curled loosely over Alex's heart. She was so happy to see her lover that Alex barely noticed her swaddled right hand and Kara's blonde head resting just above her knee near that broken limb, glasses askew.

Inhaling slow and deep, Lena's body flexed along her side, a blissfully welcome reminder of life and survival. Dark lashes fluttered and a moment later, she raised her head up and blinked those beautiful eyes.

But that expressive gaze was oddly shuttered and Alex felt something in her soul stutter and stop.

Silent and serious-faced, Lena got herself propped up on her right elbow with a minimum of jostling. Terrified that this was all going to go horribly wrong, Alex tried to speak around her dry throat, but stopped when gentle fingertips came to rest on her chapped lips.

For long, agonizing moments, those catlike eyes merely stared unnervingly.

"Did you mean it?"

There was a long moment of puzzled quiet, Alex's mind unfocused, but she remembered her impulsive confession.

"Because I'm having trouble with it."

Had she ruined this? Even the possibility made her ache far worse than bruises and broken bones.

"Lee…"

"Hush, I'm processing." There was something thunderous and dangerous that had crept into Lena's expression, pains and armor that ran soul-deep. "Those words have been used as a weapon against me a lot, Al. More than you can know."

A low, mournful sound from Alex almost broke Lena, tears welling up. She was already a goner for this girl, had been for some time now. She just hadn't really looked that in the eye and soaked it in consciously yet and she knew it. Shuddering out a long breath, she closed her eyes and gently rested her forehead to Alex's to reassure them both.

"I almost stayed away, despite Kara coming for me. Then I realized that I can't fall back on old behaviors and I'll work on better ones, I promise. I promise both of us. Relationships are work, and I choose you. God help me, I choose you."

Saying the words were starting to make it tangible, something that could be broken. But they also gave her a rush that was as unfamiliar as breathing water and as welcome as cool drink after being trapped in a desert. Nearly faint with relief and adoration, Alex managed to get her left arm disengaged from being trapped between their bodies so that she could run her knuckles and thumb over Lena's chin.

"I… I can help hold you together," she whispered. "And you let me fall apart. I don't think I ever really understood the value in that before you." Her expression went sweetly amused as she realized that Kara was probably quietly listening to every word. "Something I took for granted before."

With a huff of watery amusement shared in their breath, Lena kissed Alex softly, slowly. Smiling, she murmured gently against those cool lips, "I guess I needed someone strong and gentle whose weird is as big as my own."

"I'm pretty good with big weird," Alex teased back just as tenderly, but there was a weight to the truth in the statement. Lena sweetly stroked her lover's face, traced her features with particular attention the big, soulful brown eyes, wet with tears.

"Give me a little time, Tiger, and I'll be able to say the words back."

Alex's smile was beatific. "I'll be here."

For long moments, they simply breathed together, let the other's presence settle them, both separately and as a unit. Then Lena took a deeper breath and raised her head to pin her partner with a glower. "If you ever do something that reckless again, I may kill you myself. That was mean, telling me that and racing out to die. You can't do that, Alex, I can't handle it."

Feeling the quiet, deep emotion there, the fear that could so easily become rage, Alex absorbed it, let it change her. "I'm sorry, Lee, I was being impulsive. And… I needed something to come home to." Her expression became gently wry. "I did warn you."

"I know, I know, the Danvers sisters should come with a warning. I've already admitted that I'm not good with warnings. And, you insane fool, you've handed your heart to a Luthor, just remember that, hmm?" Her peace said for now, Lena kissed Alex softly once more and squirmed down to rest against her damaged body. "Now while I love the idea of you groveling, it can wait until you heal. Rest, my darling."

Alex merely smiled and twined their hands together over her heart. Kara finally raised her head and smiled wild and warm as the golden sun, reaching out to touch their clasped hands. "Maybe there's a reason none of your relationships worked out before. Y'know, besides the whole girl thing. You needed someone who could handle your particular type of crazy."

Scoffing lightly with sweet amusement, Alex brushed her sister's hand with her thumb. "Wise words. Love you."

"Love you too, both of you. I'll go let Eliza and the doctors know you're feeling better. Rest, you'll need it."

\----

Eliza had arrived during Alex's surgery to sit and quietly fret with Kara, feel the contained power in that steel-crushing grip around her own. Their combined relief at a positive prognosis for most of Alex's injuries was a rush, even as leaden worry settled at the potential bad news about that crushed hand. But there would be time enough to deal with that. For the moment, they would be happy to just have Alex mostly in one piece.

While Eliza had provided a distraction, Kara had super-speeded past the gauntlet to visit Alex in recovery, where she no doubt babbled like a leaky verbal faucet while recovering from anesthesia. At least that's what Eliza assumed as her youngest had trotted off after that, claiming an urgent errand she needed to tend to. 

Ever since this Supergirl thing had started, Eliza couldn't keep up with her adopted daughter. There was no time to fret over that as she trailed along with the nursing staff to watch them gently scoop up Alex's limp body, the doctor cradling the devastated right hand. Once reassured that she was settled and the drunken mumbling had slipped away to a calm sleep, Eliza hunted down the doctor to grill him.

By the time she returned, she was relieved to find Kara there, head resting on Alex's knee beside the broken hand. The errand she had gone on was cozily draped down Alex's entire left side, sleeping soundly. For long moments, Eliza merely stood there, watching the way Lena Luthor melted so warmly into her daughter, how their heads nestled together, the way the brunette's hand lay so gently over Alex's strong heart.

Eliza remembered Lex, remembered how close he had been with Clark and how horribly things had gone wrong. But what could she do, but trust her girls and hope history would not repeat itself?

So she slipped away again, letting them sleep.

Eventually, Kara wandered out, looking bittersweet and sleepy. "Hey, sweetie," Eliza called out softly and enjoyed the warm smile as much as the hug she stood up to accept.

"They're up," Kara murmured quietly, not letting up on the gentle hug. "They talked a little bit, connected again, you know how it is." Sighing, she leaned away. "Alex seems mostly okay and I wanted to let you know. Could you maybe go sit with them? I have someone that's really going to need to know that Alex is okay."

"Of course I will. Be safe."

Smiling wanly, Kara hurried off and Eliza gathered herself to go face the strange situation she had found herself in.

For better or worse, fate decided that the couple would be asleep once more, neither of them so much as stirring as she slipped into the room. They'd shifted subtly, skulls once more touching, but closer this time, their intimacy easing the tensions in their bodies. Lena looked much less like a war survivor and Alex had a little smile trapped in the corner of her mouth. 

Reflecting all of that was their intertwined hands resting on Alex's chest.

Now, Eliza was a scientist. But she was also a lover and a wife and a widow and a friend and, particularly in this case, a mother. She was not one for mystical mumbo-jumbo, but she had to admit it was difficult to tell where their energies diverged. Clearly her Alexandra had found an unexpected equal.

Fascinating.

Quietly sitting in one of the visitor's chairs, Eliza settled in to wait. Rather than toy with her phone or fidget, she forced calm and merely watched. The perusal eventually disturbed Lena's sleep and she stirred, eyes fluttering open, then widening when she noticed her quiet audience. There was a startle, then a blast of fear that went cold and calculating, before she calmed with clear recognition.

"I know you," Lena said quietly, but there was a clear question there. "You solved the Medusa Virus."

"Yes and yes," Eliza replied quietly as she stood. Alex was stirring to life as well, prompted by their voices to rejoin the living. Lena's piercing green eyes had not lost their wariness, her whole body tense as though ready to spring. That's when Eliza realized something very important and sighed internally at her daughters. Honestly. "I'm Alex's--"

"Mom?"

"That," was added with a dash of ironic humor as Alex greeted her and Lena's gaze went once more shocked and fearful. Giving the other woman a moment to collect herself, Eliza turned her adoration and worry on her grown child, leaning in to press a long kiss between puckered brows. Feeling the confusion and stress ease warmed Eliza. For all their dramas and estrangements, they were still mother and daughter and her touch could still soothe. "Hi sweetie. I came as soon as I got a call. Did you get him?"

While Eliza was no fan of the violence that lurked just below Alex's surface, she sort of understood it. This intense girl felt things not like a spark, but an electrical storm. She always had.

"I did."

"Ready to take a break?"

The gentle tease earned a quiet huff of amusement. "Definitely. Not that I have much of a choice. I'm glad you're here."

Oh how those soulful eyes-- so like her father's-- had always moved her. Smiling adoringly, Eliza stroked Alex's forehead, the back of her hand ruffling Lena's hair where she lay frozen.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." After another quiet moment between them, Eliza turned a smirk on the stranger at Alex's side. "So--"

But any sort of interaction between Alex's mother and suitor were not meant to be, for, with a ruckus of noise, the gang arrived.


	21. Ohana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Bug hunkered down to press her ear to Alex's chest and listen to her heart, Kara joined in on the hug, nearly lifting Lena and Winn's feet off the ground. Still feeling off kilter from too many hours and days and weeks of upheaval, Lena soaked up their affection, just as she had done with Alex.

Alex couldn't have more delighted to see her favorite aliens, Kara and J'onn wreathed in smiles, as well as Bug, cradled safe in powerful Kryptonian arms. She looked remarkably normal in a pretty yellow sundress, her wiry hair combed out neatly and her fluffy fox tail nearly hidden in the folds. She lit up and her delight was echoed in Alex's face as she grinned, wide and warm. "Bug, hi there."

The child was quivering with the urge to leap onto this charismatic stranger who had treated her so kindly, but remained clinging to Kara like a limpet. So Kara walked her over and leaned down so that the friends could be close enough to touch. Alex gave a very confused Lena a little squeeze before disengaging her hand so that she could mimic the gentle petting on her cheeks. Squirming, Bug got a couple more inches of freedom, despite the cradle of Kara's arms, so that she could sniff at Alex's face, pull her scent across sensitive nerve endings.

"Hello," she said clear as day, soft and shy, and drank up Alex's even wider smile.

"You have a very pretty voice, Bug. Feel good to get that nasty collar off?"

Nodding eagerly, Bug rubbed her cheek against her hero's, despite being conflicted by the presence of the stranger at Alex's side.

"You have my word that I will do everything in my power to make sure you never so much as have to look at one of those things again, okay?"

"Okay," Bug agreed, utterly drawn to this stranger's fierce kindness. Gentling once more, Alex shifted her gaze to Kara's for a moment.

"And I see you've made my friends with my sister. She's great, right?"

Looking back and forth between the women, Bug spoke again in her soft little voice. "But she's not Human."

The little ripple of amusement in the adults was a gentle one.

"Nope, though that's a secret to most people, 'kay? One thing you need to know about being a Danvers is that family is what we make it." Gesturing at J'onn where he stood behind Winn, she continued. "The big guy there? He's as good as a father to me, and he's not Human either. And Winn in the ugly shirt? He might as well be a brother. That pretty lady beside Kara is my mother and this pretty lady is the love of my life. You've fallen in with a good crowd, kiddo."

For a moment, Bug just blinked her gold eyes at the crowd, tail twitching. "Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten."

"Ohana," Alex echoed and once more stroked her head. "Good parallel. You can be the Stitch to my Lilo, okay?"

"Okay."

Alex's smile turned teasing as she met Kara's eyes above Bug's head. "Or maybe you're Stitch, Kara. Powerful and destructive, but not exactly cute and fluffy."

"Hey, I'm cute," Kara complained mildly to the amusement of the group. 

"I'm cute and fluffy," Bug dropped into the running conversation and both startled and preened at the burst of laughter she earned for it.

\----

Feeling self-conscious and more than a little overwhelmed by all the attention and, well, family, Lena pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Alex's mouth and tried to squirm away. Alex was having none of it.

"Hey," she murmured encouragingly, hooking her thumb into the front of the red sweater that Lena did so love to steal. "You're okay."

There was conviction to that statement, but a question too. As she had done so many times before, Alex's kind sincerity warmed Lena and she nodded. Stroking over that beloved face, she breathed out. "I will be, I think."

Not holding back this time, Lena kissed her properly, poured out some of the emotions she was still wrestling with. Might always wrestle with. But for the first time, Alex could taste the words in her kiss. Breathless as she always seemed to be around this woman, Lena rested her forehead against Alex's for a moment. She had no damn clue what was going on around her at the moment, but decided to just roll with it as best she could.

"Your little friend looks like she needs a hug, and I think I need to do the same with both Kara and Winn, who looks like he's about to explode."

"'Kay," Alex agreed even as Lena sat up carefully so as not to jostle injuries. Immediately, Bug wiggled to be let down, Kara warning her to be gentle. Carefully, Bug came to rest on cautious little feet to crouch where Lena had been laying. 

"One of the three survivors of the Cadmus base," J'onn explained quietly in the background, both Lena and Eliza absorbing the words. "She's taken quite the shine to Alex. Been nearly inconsolable without her, though she seems to like Kara and myself well enough."

"Probably because we smell like Alex," Kara teased wryly.

Winn gave Lena only enough time to regain her feet and stretch out her back with a groan before he pounced. Unlike her second visit to the DEO building, there was no holding back the hug this time. "Augh!" he cried. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even know that you left and that you were upset! I'm a terrible friend!"

For a moment Lena just stood there stiffly, but gentled and tentatively wrap her arms around his shoulders. But she still stared at him in puzzlement when he leaned back to meet her gaze. Then she looked startled and suddenly smiled, slow and shy. "You were worried about me?"

And Winn, bless his heart, reacted perfectly, deflecting the seriousness of the moment with a playful eyeroll. "Uh yeah, doy."

He was immeasurably pleased that she initiated the second hug.

While Bug hunkered down to press her ear to Alex's chest and listen to her heart, Kara joined in on the hug, nearly lifting Lena and Winn's feet off the ground. Still feeling off kilter from too many hours and days and weeks of upheaval, Lena soaked up their affection, just as she had done with Alex.

J'onn was completely unaware of his schmoopy expression as he watched the tableau, how Alex spoke quietly with her new little friend, her good hand petting the dark hair and then reaching out to stroke Lena's hip. The three-way hug was cheering the participants after too many stressful days and close calls, and Eliza seemed as relaxed as she could be to have her girls alive and mostly well, and a very strange relationship to get used to.

It was the latter that met his eye, smiling warmly and curling a hand around J'onn's arm in a half-embrace. When Eliza teased him, he could only smile warmly, caught in the truth of it.

"I saw that tear, Space Dad."

\----

The flowers had shown up on Saturday afternoon, an enormous explosion of color and scent that nearly overwhelmed Kyra room. While she loved them, they did nothing to alleviate her worry.

Worry that ran the gamut from terror to white-hot anger, not helped when she looked at the delivery tag that came with the flowers. They had been ordered a week ago, as though Susan knew something she didn't.

Susan knew a damn lot of things Kyra didn't, and that fact didn't bother her so much as she knew it was dangerous. Whatever she did with the FBI was no mere computer work, no matter what Susan said. There were too many finely honed muscles, too much alertness, too many scars.

And she worried.

The message left on her phone still left her heart aching, Susan's warm voice mournful and aching, even two days later.

 _"Hey baby, I miss you, hope you got the flowers and you're having fun with your mom. I… I wish I were there, y'know? You deserve better than this. Sorry, I didn't mean to get whiny there."_ The rough clearing of her throat had carried clearly over the line. Kyra could almost taste the tears that lingered in the corners of those dark, expressive eyes. _"Happy birthday, Kyra, I love you so, so much and I really hope I'm home soon. Bye…"_

There had been no mistaking the hitch in her voice, the crack of loneliness and fear and vulnerability.

When the phonecall finally came, part of Kyra wasn't even surprised. Perversely, she was almost relieved.

"Hello?"

"Miss Hart? This is Director J'onzz, Susan's boss. I want you to know that she is alive, but has been wounded on the operation that has kept her away for so long. I can ensure that you see her now. Miss Hart?"

Kyra had frozen at 'I want you to know she is alive', as though that fact had been in doubt at some point. For a moment, it felt like her heart had stopped, then started racing out of control.

"I'm… I'm here, Director. Please, where is she?"

"The UCNC Medical Center. Please call when you get here and I will ensure that you will be allowed access to her."

"I'll do that."

For a long moment, Kyra sat and stared at her phone, heart pounding and eyes burning. The hospital. The largest and most famous hospital in National City.

She blinked and tears plinked onto her phone and wrist.

There would be time for tears later, right now she had a fiancé who needed her. Pulling up the Lyft app on her phone and dazedly wiping the tears on her shirt, she leaned over to gently shake her mother awake from her nap.

"Mom, you need to get up. Susan needs us."

And they were off.

\----

Maggie was no fan of hospitals, though she had been lucky to rarely have been a patron at least. 

The prognosis for her busted leg had been much better than she'd hoped, only the fibula truly broken, though broken clean through. That coupled with a couple minor fractures in the larger tibia would keep her firmly in the gimp squad for at least eight-ish weeks before she could even hobble. Though the rip in her skin from the lower edge of rib nearly to armpit would have laid her up regardless. It was an ugly wound, but thankfully shallow, and her heavy clothing had both kept the wound reasonably clean and protected her from a worse beating. The doctors had been more concerned with the heavy splotches of bruising from the hell-ride of a fall she'd taken, but it had been a day and a half and her bull-headed resiliency seemed to be holding up.

But being applicable for release brought up another ugly reality. There was no one to help her out. Not really. Oh, she could probably get a lift home from any of her acquaintances at the precinct, but then what? It was depressing to realize how alone she was. 

The hospital room door burst open with rather more enthusiasm than Maggie had gotten used to, making her jerk and groan.

"Hey, Trouble!"

Whatever Maggie had expected, a wildly grinning Lucy Lane riding the back of a wheelchair like a go-cart was not it.

"I'm bustin' ya outta dis joint, see?" she drawled in a cartoon-terrible gangster voice and fired a fingergun with a wink as she abandoned her unorthodox ride to roll into the wall.

Maggie stared for a long moment, caught by several things. First, Hotness suited the woman because damn, she was fine. Secondly, she was clearly nuts, but it suited her. And lastly, what was she doing here?

"Again, bustin' ya out."

"Did I say that out loud?"

"You did, but we'll blame the painkillers. Now as the Queen of All Media would bark, chop, chop! We have friends waiting in the car and it's cold out there."

"Wait!" 

The cry made Lucy freeze and cock her head curiously.

"Look, Lane, I appreciate what you've done for me, but what are you doing?"

For a moment Lucy merely watched her with those cutting green eyes, and when she spoke, there was a distance there that had been absent so far. "Look, Sawyer, you're not the only one who can detect. You need some looking after and you have no one to do it. I'm alone and have serious anger management issues lately and I could use a healthy distraction, so I'm volunteering. Besides, the terror bunnies, you remember them? They've been anxious to see you. They're great, by the way, you're going to like them."

"But… you don't know me." Maggie was baffled by this woman. Something in Lucy softened then.

"Maybe not, but I understand you. And the Danvers duo like you and that's more than good enough for me. So, suck up being doted over by a trio of hot babes for a couple weeks. Sure, a couple of them are furry… and have tails, but you like aliens, right?"

As it had done before, in the terrifying dimness of the Cadmus base, Lucy's snappy patter relaxed Maggie, even made her chuckle.

"Okay, okay, I know when I'm beat. I'm surrendering to your insane hands."

"Fantastic!" Lucy beamed and smacked the call button. "Let's get some strong backs to get you into your chariot and make a break for it."


	22. New Families

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exhausted and with calm settling once more, Alex gripped Lena close and just breathed her in for another long while. Lena's hands curled around her skull were almost fierce, a grip that was grounding and loving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have at last arrived at the end of this long, winding path. It has been loving, and confusing, and enlightening and scary and funny and a hundred other things, and I greatly enjoyed myself both in the doing, and how it has touched a lot of readers.
> 
> But, you wail, Shatterpath, how can you leave us? Well, I'm not! There are more words already done, and more to come, but it might be a bit before I have a grasp on the next part enough to figure out a rough posting schedule. But not too long! 
> 
> Once again, A HUGE SHOUT OUT to SinginPrincess (TheOnlySPL) and theillogicalthinker for their time and banter and patience with my IM ramblings. You two are amazing and I couldn't have done it without you.
> 
> See you all in the next segment of our journey!

In the end, it took nearly an hour to get everything straightened out before Lucy and Maggie could at last make their getaway. Maggie squeaked in alarm at Lucy's finding a long stretch of hallway where she got a running start and hopped onto the wheelchair to yell, "Weeee!"

Badass detective or no, Maggie covered her eyes as the glass doors came up on them fast, a man's voice yelling in alarm in their wake. But Lucy timed it perfectly, the door whooshing open to spill them into the chilly damp of the afternoon.

"You're insane."

"Probably," Lucy agreed amiably, parking the chair with gentle care at the curb beneath the large overhang that kept the blowing rain away from them. She leaned her forearms onto Maggie's shoulders, embracing her head as she tapped at her phone. Maggie wasn't denying herself the enjoyment of that body heat and the softness of tits on the back of her skull.

"The bird is in the nest," Lucy called out as soon as the device showed a connection and the rolling purr of a chuckle clued Maggie to who was on the other end. 

"Is better than one in the hand?" The voice was soft-spoken, low-pitched and surprisingly warm.

"You do talk!" Maggie exclaimed in delight. 

"We do!" piped up a second voice, lighter, slightly higher. "What's up, Detective Deathwish?"

The very ordinary cheerfulness made Maggie laugh in delight. "Oh, I can't wait to hear all about you two."

"You got it," said the first voice and a plain black van pulled up to the curb in front of them. The door slammed open with a speed that made Maggie feel like she was the femme fatale in an abduction scene, and there was a wide, engaging grin in that lovely, fuzzy face. 

"Hey," Maggie greeted her, feeling oddly shy. The forced intimacy of fellows in combat was different than meeting the same strangers in the cold light of day. With a sinuous ease of the cougars they moved like, the first twin stepped out, her grin warm.

"Hey."

That was it for a moment, each admiring the other, until Lucy exploded into loud sarcasm. "Oh for fuck sake! Maggie, this is Shan, Shan, Maggie. The driver is Ro, now can we get inside before I freeze my tits off? This wind is a bitch."

Giggling, Shan reached back into the van to pull out a folded up wheelchair and open it up. "We've been looking forward to meeting you, Maggie. Now, up!"

Leaning well into Maggie's personal dance space, Shan coiled a long arm around her back and scooped the other under her ass. Maggie had little choice but to throw her right arm around her neck, keeping the left down to protect her stitched up side. Shan's hair was thick and rabbit-soft, as was the fur that varied in thickness from downy to bury-your-fingers-in-the-warmth over the curve of her neck and shoulder.

"Got her legs, Lucy?"

"Yup. And heave!"

For an instant, Maggie was terrified of being hurt again, her battered body so sore and oversensitive, but the heave was a smooth movement, Shan showing no strain in moving her much smaller body from one chair to the other. And the new chair was far more comfortable, and smaller, to fit her petite frame. With a minimum of jostling, she was settled, Shan grinning in her face before stepping to the back to grab the handles. It was almost a shame, because the unusual woman smelled really interesting, something both wild and ordinary about her. Just like her looks.

Speaking of looks, they were starting to get some really weird ones from passersby. Even in a plain flannel shirt and loose shorts, there was no hiding that Shan was really unique, even in a town with a notable alien population. 

Lucy, who had hopped into the van, popped the back door and an electric ramp hummed down to clink to the pavement and Maggie was quickly pushed inside to begin the process of being securely strapped in.

"You guys rented a wheelchair accessible van for me?"

"Duh," Lucy called back as she shooed the other twin from the driver's seat. "How else were we going to safely move you, gimpy?"

Moving about the semi-cramped interior of the van with all the sinuous ease of a cat, Ro settled onto the lone bench seat and offered a hand. Her smile was slower than her twin's, and Maggie would bet she didn't offer it as often, so she willingly smiled back. Her hand was large and slightly warmer than expected with a nice, normal palm. If not for the thick, claw-like nails, Maggie would have thought nothing different about the woman's handshake.

"So, Ro and Shan, huh? I don't even know where to start with my questions, I'll be honest."

Shan also sat in the bench seat, both twins sitting mostly sideways so they could speak with Maggie, who was struck by the situation she found herself in. It didn't matter that they were strangers, really, they felt like they were already bonded, like a pack. Right now, Maggie needed them, and liked them, and right now, the twins would need her too. How Lucy fit in was anyone's guess, but she was relentless in being included and who was Maggie to argue? With a busted leg and her side sewn shut and half her body a giant bruise, there was little she could do for herself anyway.

When she smiled this time, there was something warmer in it and the twins immediately perked up and beamed back at her. For a couple of lab experiments, they were really charismatic and likeable.

"Okay, so," Maggie hedged thoughtfully as the van pulled smoothly away from the curb. "I suppose we'll have to figure out something useful for you to do, huh? Besides playing nursemaid to a busted up cop."

"That's not a bad place to start," Ro said sincerely and Maggie grinned at the clawed hands the twins laid over the fiberglass holding her broken bones in place.

"No, it's not a bad place to start at all. Thank you, all three of you."

\----

Between the slow arrival of the Lyft driver and the omnipresent congestion of National City, it took well over an hour to travel the six-odd miles to the Medical Center. When the massive complex was close, she dialed the number from earlier, once more hearing Director J'onzz's deep voice on the other end. With only brief words exchanged, he informed them where they needed to be and was waiting there at Susan's door with his posture formal, as they arrived. Somehow all J'onn could think as the striking pair of redheads rushed up, ashen with worry, is that Susan's photographs had done neither any justice. Shaking off the distraction of the mentally noisy hospital, he opened the door and gestured for them to enter. 

"Please, come inside. She's been in and out since being struck, but I'm certain your presence will greatly benefit her recovery."

Kyra didn't gasp, but the wounded sound that remained caught in her throat was somehow worse. Without a moment's hesitation, Reba put her hands on her middle child's shoulders to loan her strength. J'onn didn't need to be a mind reader to recognize the bond of family between them. Swallowing hard, Kyra took shaky steps to the bed while Reba hung back a few steps, trapped between wanting to be protective of them both and giving them a bit of space.

Blinking at the burn of tears, Kyra could only stare at the still figure in the bed. Her sweet, beloved Susan looked like she'd been hit by a truck. Her right arm was swaddled heavily with small streaks of blood in the fabric, and violent bruises peeked out from the edge of the soft pad over her eyes.

"Our… target," J'onn hedged as Kyra slowly sat beside her fiancé, "had some animals as guards. I'm afraid we were caught off guard. She has lacerations on her right arm and side, and a concussion that has had her very disoriented. The doctors have been monitoring her closely and there is no brain bleeding and the swelling has not gone to an overtly dangerous point. She was unconscious for some time and they've been monitoring her closely because of that."

Kyra carefully slipped her hands around Susan's cool fingers and palm, avoiding the injection plug and IV line there. "Hey, badass," she said, fighting to keep the quaver in her voice to a minimum. "I'm glad to see you. The flowers were great and you'll have to get better and come home and enjoy them with me, okay?"

It was a shuddering relief when Susan's hand curled slowly around her own.

"There you are," Kyra whispered thickly, still fighting the sob clawing at her throat. Susan stirred weakly and Kyra could sense the agitation, quickly reaching out to curl her hand over the soft skin of her cheek. "Shh, shh, I'm here, baby, it's okay. Lie still."

Susan's mouth moved soundlessly in an attempt to communicate, only relaxing when Kyra rubbed her thumb over her trembling lips. The touch was a catalyst, easing the disorientation and the fear that came with it, breath easing, muscles relaxing, the rush of stress hormones slowing. Only then did J'onn himself feel an easing of his own pains, for he cared deeply about his people and he could admit that Alex and Susan were among those that had become like a surrogate family to him. Reaching out, he curled a big hand around her shoulder for a long moment, suddenly wishing he dared take on his true form. 

"Rest in the care of your family, warrior. We will all guard over you."

It was Kyra that looked up at him, really taking him in for a moment. Susan had spoken a lot about him, how she admired his decency and strong spirit, that his alienness mattered little to her. Clearly, it ran both ways and she soaked up the warm, worried expression on his handsome face. "Thank you," she managed to say quietly around the tightness in her throat and J'onn nodded regally.

"My duty and my pleasure. I'll leave her in your capable hands."

Nodding a silent farewell, he slipped away and Reba pulled up a second chair to hold silent vigil with her daughter over her daughter of heart.

\----

The nurses ran out the rest of the Danvers party to tend Alex, and she was warmed by the protests, but relieved for the privacy. Having her battered body tended to like a helpless infant was a humbling enough experience in itself, thank you. Once clean and as comfortable as she was going to get, Alex got just as welcome a visit from a doctor she didn't know, and one she did. The DEO had stealthily sent over one of the various devices that helped with healing, and this one Alex was all too familiar with. The staff doctor watched the whole process with open fascination as much of the pain in Alex's body bled away. 

But the pleasure of the lessening of pain was a short-lived one.

Oh she heard every word her doctor spoke, watched the DEO doc pack away the device and slip away quietly, absorbed all of it. But none of it quite registered past the loop of bad news playing on repeat in her head

Nerve damage, swelling, bone fragments, massive bruising, joint ruptures…

Nerve damage…

Nerve damage…

It rang through Alex's mind like the echoes of a great brass bell. Stress wiped out all of her medical training, turning Latin to pig latin in her head. For too many long moments, it felt like the guy could have been talking in Mandarin for all she understood, and that sophisticated healing device she had fiddled with using her own two hands, might as well have been a pencil sharpener.

Hands.

The doctor slipped out while she stared blankly at her right hand, laying quiescently in its sterile wrappings. The intermittent pulses of sensation from the extremity had not changed. There were things even alien technology could not solve.

She had spaced out so far into her own head that Alex was only just registering the shift on the bed when a familiar hand reached across her body to rest, feather-light, on her right wrist. She couldn't feel the touch, as much from the braces and bandages as the erratic nerve signals. 

That touch coaxed Alex's to break the morbid stare down and she raised her teary gaze to meet Lena's sober, loving eyes.

A sob broke loose and Lena made no attempt to soothe with words, only leaned in close to press soft kisses at the corners of Alex's wet eyes, the curve of cheek and nose. They were misery and strength and damage and hope and a thousand more things both together and apart. And Alex's were not the only tears shed as the emotional storm tore through.

Exhausted and with calm settling once more, Alex gripped Lena close and just breathed her in for another long while. Lena's hands curled around her skull were almost fierce, a grip that was grounding and loving.

"I'm here," Lena finally whispered. "We'll get through this."

"We will," Alex whispered back just as softly and soaked up the sweet kiss they shared.

"Let me grab a pillow and I'll take my spot back."

And it was Lena's place, there at Alex's side, the two of them stronger together. They had become their own core, with the rest of the family quietly joining them after some time. Kara shifted Alex's legs a bit so that Bug could curl up between her knees and the two of them could rest their heads on Alex's left thigh, close to that damaged hand. Eliza sat quietly, close enough to touch each of them, and bore witness to something that filled up her heart until it welled from her eyes.

The beginnings of a new family.

**Author's Note:**

> SO! I have at last made my meandering way to the end with a whopping 22 chapters! 
> 
> But fear not! There is more story to be told in what will be a drawn-out epilogue under the name 'To Build a Village'. So stay tuned!


End file.
